Basic academic subjects like reading, writing and arithmetic were the backbone(主干) of the schools during the 1920s and 1930s, until reform movements of the 1940s and 1950s reacted against heavy systematization(系统化, 组织化) to bring about methods that focused on taking advantage of students’ interests.In 1957 when the former Soviet Union sent the first satellite into outer space, Americans got scared that our students were not as well prepared scientifically and the Soviet children were, so a big wave of encouragement for science and math took over in our schools.During the politically eventful(多变化的) late 1960s, such curricula seemed less relevant than children’s ability to think for themselves and direct the course of their own education.Experiments such as “open classrooms” came into being, with children in the same room doing a variety of different activities, and teachers seem more as overseers than transmitters of knowledge.High school students made more of their own decisions on which courses to take, and as a result fewer studied foreign languages and hard science.

　　When the mid-1970s brought drops in the scores achieved by high school students, the US educators became concerned that our schools were not giving students enough grounding in basic academic skills and became convinced that students could best think for themselves if they had better basic skills.As a result, the idea is “back to basics”, as schools emphasize these as part of standard curricula.

　　What do all these changes mean for US children? They illustrate, for one thing, the underlying American faith that our future rests on the way our children turn out, and that a basic way to affect children’s development is through their education.
The main topic of this passage is _____.

A.the attitude of society towards education

B.the various curricula in high school education

C.the importance of basic academic skills in schools

D.the importance of students’ making their own decisions