The back-to-basics movement in part has resulted from public alarm over the increase in functional illiteracy--students' inability to solve everyday problems requiring basic language and mathematics skills. Although not all its adherents are politically and educationally conservative, those who support fundamentalist schools certainly are. These schools emphasize uniform authority-centered education, strict discipline, and respect for the values of the dominant culture, as well as the traditional "Three R's." These back-to-basics schools are growing in popularity, though many educators are critical of what they consider the regressive tendencies of fundamentalist education. The author summarizes the thinking of theorists, such as Alfred North Whitehead, who suggest that language and mathematic skills, as traditionally defined, do not constitute the true basics of education. Instead, the cognitive, affective, and developmental skills necessary for mature and effective communication are the proper educational goals. The author concludes that it would be regrettable if the pressing problem of illiteracy becomes rigidly linked with fundamentalist conservatism. (Author)