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Dumbing Us Down - 25th Anniversary Edition: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling Paperback – May 19, 2017
John Taylor Gatto
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Print length144 pages
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LanguageEnglish
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PublisherNew Society Publishers
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Publication dateMay 19, 2017
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Dimensions6 x 0.29 x 9 inches
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ISBN-100865718547
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ISBN-13978-0865718548
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"A remarkable achievement. I can't remember ever reading such a profound analysis of modern education."
— Howard Zinn, on The Underground History of American Education
"Education's most original thinker."
— Daniel H. Pink, author of Free Agent Nation
"I've loved John Gatto's work ever since I first encountered his astounding essays."
— Christiane Northrup, M.D., author of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom
"I count John Gatto among my heroes."
— Robert Bly
"Gatto is a singular antidote to stale convention."
— David Guterson, author of Snow Falling On Cedars
"Brilliant Work."
— Laissez Faire Books
"I agree with damn near every semi-colon and comma that Mr. Gatto has written."
— Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence
"Gatto's voice is strong and unique, a Socrates of the educational world."
— Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul
"Any student would be lucky to have a teacher like Gatto."
— Editorial in Commonweal
"I'm still baffled by how someone so forthright would have been named Teacher of the Year."
— Jeanne Allen, Editor, Education Update, Washington DC
"One of the world's most controversial education reformists."
— The Western Australian
"...inspirational and chillingly on the money."
— Bruce Bebb, The Hollywood Reporter, Hollywood CA
"You've got guts."
— D'Arcy Rickard, British Columbia School Trustees Association, Canada
"Easily the most brilliant and arresting salvo on education that I've seen."
— Graham Betts, Madison WI
"I read what you had to say with the greatest of delight and shared it with friends, one of whom said it brought tears to her eyes. We both thank you for writing."
— Edward M. Jones, Editor, A Voice for Children, Santa Fe NM
"Professor Kenneth E. Boulding saw your writing and got it to me. I so fully agreed with everything you said that you have re-excited me about the similar mission I am on."
— Ed Lyell, Colorado State Board of Education, Denver CO
"A very important and passionate book - a reawakening of the penetrating critique of schooling made in the 1960s by John Holt, Jonathan Kozol, and James Herndon...it deserves top be in every bookstore in the country. Yours is a voice of humanity, community and love. Bravo."
— Ron Miller, Editor, Holistic Education Review
"My daughter, a smart, dedicated 14-year-old who just dropped out of high school and is successfully pursuing independent studies reports that your findings about the nature of institutional schooling are precisely right. Drove her nuts."
— Ken Richards, Richmond IN
"Brilliant. I've never seen so many true statements about education, children and families in one place.... Your insights and integrity are wonderful."
— Norah Dooley, Cambridge MA
"Seldom have I read such a penetrating and passionate diagnosis of our current educational and cultural crisis. And I have read all the current weighty expostulations."
— Robert Inchausti, California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo CA
"I can visualize the Department of Education putting out a contract on your life. Please continue to speak out in the direction you are going."
— W. Evans, Woodbury/St.George UT
"Your articles are wonderful and so desperately needed. I've copied them for a dozen families and everyone was enthusiastic. One mother said, 'We should elect this man President."
— Elaine Majors, Chapel Hill NC
"Thank you for challenging public education - in your Wall Street Journal editorial, your evening program at Carnegie Hall, your book, and all the rest."
— Sandra Booth, Spring Valley NY
"It is as refreshing to read and hear your words as it is to study Zen.... Good show."
— John Warfield, Huntingdon VA
Review
"A remarkable achievement. I can't remember ever reading such a profound analysis of modern education."
― Howard Zinn, on The Underground History of American Education
"Education's most original thinker."
― Daniel H. Pink, author of Free Agent Nation
"I've loved John Gatto's work ever since I first encountered his astounding essays."
― Christiane Northrup, M.D., author of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom
"I count John Gatto among my heroes."
― Robert Bly
"Gatto is a singular antidote to stale convention."
― David Guterson, author of Snow Falling On Cedars
"Brilliant Work."
― Laissez Faire Books
"I agree with damn near every semi-colon and comma that Mr. Gatto has written."
― Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence
"Gatto's voice is strong and unique, a Socrates of the educational world."
― Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul
"Any student would be lucky to have a teacher like Gatto."
― Editorial in Commonweal
"I'm still baffled by how someone so forthright would have been named Teacher of the Year."
― Jeanne Allen, Editor, Education Update, Washington DC
"One of the world's most controversial education reformists."
― The Western Australian
"...inspirational and chillingly on the money."
― Bruce Bebb, The Hollywood Reporter, Hollywood CA
"You've got guts."
― D'Arcy Rickard, British Columbia School Trustees Association, Canada
"Easily the most brilliant and arresting salvo on education that I've seen."
― Graham Betts, Madison WI
"I read what you had to say with the greatest of delight and shared it with friends, one of whom said it brought tears to her eyes. We both thank you for writing."
― Edward M. Jones, Editor, A Voice for Children, Santa Fe NM
"Professor Kenneth E. Boulding saw your writing and got it to me. I so fully agreed with everything you said that you have re-excited me about the similar mission I am on."
― Ed Lyell, Colorado State Board of Education, Denver CO
"A very important and passionate book - a reawakening of the penetrating critique of schooling made in the 1960s by John Holt, Jonathan Kozol, and James Herndon...it deserves top be in every bookstore in the country. Yours is a voice of humanity, community and love. Bravo."
― Ron Miller, Editor, Holistic Education Review
"My daughter, a smart, dedicated 14-year-old who just dropped out of high school and is successfully pursuing independent studies reports that your findings about the nature of institutional schooling are precisely right. Drove her nuts."
― Ken Richards, Richmond IN
"Brilliant. I've never seen so many true statements about education, children and families in one place.... Your insights and integrity are wonderful."
― Norah Dooley, Cambridge MA
"Seldom have I read such a penetrating and passionate diagnosis of our current educational and cultural crisis. And I have read all the current weighty expostulations."
― Robert Inchausti, California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo CA
"I can visualize the Department of Education putting out a contract on your life. Please continue to speak out in the direction you are going."
― W. Evans, Woodbury/St.George UT
"Your articles are wonderful and so desperately needed. I've copied them for a dozen families and everyone was enthusiastic. One mother said, 'We should elect this man President."
― Elaine Majors, Chapel Hill NC
"Thank you for challenging public education - in your Wall Street Journal editorial, your evening program at Carnegie Hall, your book, and all the rest."
― Sandra Booth, Spring Valley NY
"It is as refreshing to read and hear your words as it is to study Zen.... Good show."
― John Warfield, Huntingdon VA
Book Description
Throw off the shackles of formal schooling and embark upon a rich journey of self-directed, life-long learning
From the Inside Flap
A bestseller for 25 years, John Taylor Gatto's radical treatise on public education continues to advocate for the unshackling of children and learning from formal schooling
We don't need school reform. Schools are working exactly as their designers intended. We need more choices and options outside of school. At the end of the day, the person who creates those is you. Stop waiting for permission from others and create opportunities to learn. - ZACHARY SLAYBACK, from the Foreword
Education's most original thinker. - DANIEL H. PINK, author, Free Agent Nation
AFTER OVER 100 YEARS of mandatory schooling in the U.S., literacy rates have dropped, families are fragmented, learning "disabilities" are skyrocketing, and children and youth are increasingly disaffected. Thirty years of teaching in the public school system led John Taylor Gatto to the sad conclusion that compulsory governmental schooling is to blame.
He became a fierce advocate of families and young people taking back education and learning, arguing that "genius is as common as dirt," but that conventional schooling is driving out the natural curiosity and problem-solving skills we're born with, replacing it with rule-following, fragmented time, and disillusionment.
Gatto continues to bang the drum for an unshackling of children and learning from formal schooling. Now, in an ever-more-rapidly changing world, with an explosion of alternative routes to learning, it's poised to continue to shake the world of institutional education for many more years.
JOHN TAYLOR GATTO was a schoolteacher for 30 years. He resigned in the op-ed pages of The Wall Street Journal upon receiving the New York State Teacher of the Year award. He has been a fierce advocate for self directed "guerrilla" education for decades, and is also the author of Weapons of Mass Instruction and The Underground History of American Education
A one-man intellectual insurgency. - The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
From the Back Cover
A bestseller for 25 years, John Taylor Gatto's radical treatise on public education continues to advocate for the unshackling of children and learning from formal schooling
We don't need school reform. Schools are working exactly as their designers intended. We need more choices and options outside of school. At the end of the day, the person who creates those is you. Stop waiting for permission from others and create opportunities to learn. - ZACHARY SLAYBACK, from the Foreword
Education's most original thinker. - DANIEL H. PINK, author, Free Agent Nation
AFTER OVER 100 YEARS of mandatory schooling in the U.S., literacy rates have dropped, families are fragmented, learning "disabilities" are skyrocketing, and children and youth are increasingly disaffected. Thirty years of teaching in the public school system led John Taylor Gatto to the sad conclusion that compulsory governmental schooling is to blame.
He became a fierce advocate of families and young people taking back education and learning, arguing that "genius is as common as dirt," but that conventional schooling is driving out the natural curiosity and problem-solving skills we're born with, replacing it with rule-following, fragmented time, and disillusionment.
Gatto continues to bang the drum for an unshackling of children and learning from formal schooling. Now, in an ever-more-rapidly changing world, with an explosion of alternative routes to learning, it's poised to continue to shake the world of institutional education for many more years.
JOHN TAYLOR GATTO was a schoolteacher for 30 years. He resigned in the op-ed pages of The Wall Street Journal upon receiving the New York State Teacher of the Year award. He has been a fierce advocate for self directed "guerrilla" education for decades, and is also the author of Weapons of Mass Instruction and The Underground History of American Education
A one-man intellectual insurgency. - The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : New Society Publishers; 25th Anniversary edition (May 19, 2017)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 144 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0865718547
- ISBN-13 : 978-0865718548
- Item Weight : 8.4 ounces
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.29 x 9 inches
-
Best Sellers Rank:
#9,979 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #8 in Canadian Politics
- #10 in Curricula (Books)
- #13 in History of Education
- Customer Reviews:
Customer reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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“School is a twelve-year jail sentence where bad habits are the only curriculum truly learned. I teach schools and win awards doing it. I should know.”
Those “bad habits” he is referring to are what he outlines in the first chapter as being the true lessons taught in schools: confusion, class position, indifference, emotional dependency, intellectual dependency, provisional self-esteem, one can’t hide (constant surveillance).
This book does not leave you feeling inspired – it leaves you outraged. But sometimes, that’s exactly what is needed to spur change (and it’s why the Sage Homeschooling book begins with our experience exiting the school system).
Read the book. Face the truth. Create a better path.
Dumbing Us Down – The Hidden Curriculum Of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto is a masterly an in-depth view into how public schooling really works.
Sampling many of his best personal essays, Dumbing Us Down features the true reasons why education in our modern day system is failing: because it’s meant to be that way.
Gatto reinforces his main premise with a thorough examination of public schooling in America. He carries this out rather incisively given his no holds barred approach to the matter, and this is very refreshing.
While many others have tippy toed their way around the issue, Gatto harpoons the heart of the matter with statements such as:
“…schools and schooling are increasingly irrelevant to the great enterprises of the planet. No one believes anymore that scientists are trained in science classes or politicians in civics classes or poets in English classes. The truth is that schools don’t really teach anything except how to obey orders.”[1][Bold Emphasis Added]
“Schools are intended to produce, through the application of formulas, formulaic human beings whose behavior can be predicted and controlled.”[2][Bold Emphasis Added]
“It is absurd and anti-life to be part of the system that compels you to sit in confinement with people of exactly the same age and social class. That system effectively cuts you off from the immense diversity of life and the synergy of variety; indeed it cuts you off from your own past and future, sealing you in a continuous present much the same way television does.”[3][Bold Emphasis Added]
Such scathing statements leave no question to Gatto’s courageous stance, and helps the reader understand the plight we face rather cogently.
Another component of this ongoing public schooling issue is how vital the community is, and more importantly, the family unit, in helping foster a healthier, more independent, more curious, and ultimately more self-sufficient individuals through proper education. While this might seem obvious in hindsight, it isn’t being employed that much at all in our modern environs.
Throughout the length of the book, Gatto fiercely touches upon the many different factors that have helped cause this growing dilemma. Some of these include the overwhelming amount of television being watched by society in general, and more specifically by children, while other components have to deal with the inherent designs of schooling such as the fragmentation of education, the removal of the family from an individual’s education, the poor life tenets individuals are taught, and much more.
One of the best parts of the book is what Gatto calls ‘The 7-Lesson School Teacher’, where the author shows what teachers are truly expected to inculcate into students. Once read, this particular lesson to the reader might seem facetious, but it’s really not. When one views what Gatto is stating with an open mind – while keeping cognizance of the fact that he worked decades for the system – then one completely gets to be aware of why failure in schooling isn’t the exception, but the rule.
In fact, more specifically, Gatto gets at the heart of why public schooling is destined to fail:
“Mass education cannot work to produce a fair society because its daily practice is practice in rigged competition, suppression and intimidation. The schools we’ve allowed to develop can’t work to teach nonmaterial values, the values which give meaning to everyone’s life, rich or poor, because the structure of schooling is held together by a Byzantine tapestry of reward and threat, of carrots and sticks. Official favor, grades, and other trinkets of subordination have no connection with education; they are the paraphernalia of servitude, not of freedom.”[69][Bold Emphasis Added]
Gatto has unbounded a phenomenal book in the field of public schooling and more importantly, what true education should encompass. Please keep in mind, schooling and education are not the same thing. Particularly, this differentiation and what each means is one of the main gems of this book.
To finalize, this book is a veritable fountain of information that is intense in precision and thought-provoking in its implications given that they filter into all aspects of our lives, and ultimately seep into the future. This is why it’s vitally important for individuals to become autodidacts, and help others become so through our interactions with our families and communities. Self-teaching is more important now than ever, especially with the deteriorating effects of public schooling.
Because of all the reasons mentioned above, and myriad more, this book is definitely a must read for everyone.
As the author saliently notes:
“Aristotle saw, a long time ago, that fully participating in a complex range of human affairs was the only way to become fully human…”[47][Bold Emphasis Added]
____________________________________________________
Sources & References:
[1] John Taylor Gatto, Dumbing Us Down – The Hidden Curriculum Of Compulsory Schooling, pg. 21.
[2] Ibid., pg. 23.
[3] Ibid., pg. 24.
[4] Ibid., pg. 69.
[5] Ibid., pg. 47.
____________________________________________________
Suggested resources reviewed below for those seeking ideas to self-teach and become autodidacts:
Socratic Logic V3.1 by Peter Kreeft Ph.D.
The Trivium – The Liberal Arts Of Grammar & Rhetoric by Sister Miriam Joseph Ph.D.
How To Read A Book – The Classic Guide To Intelligent Reading by Mortimer J. Adler & Charles Van Doren
Philosophy 101 – An Introduction To Philosophy Via Plato’s Apology by Peter Kreeft Ph.D.
The Complete Workbook For Arguments – A Complete Course In Critical Thinking [2nd Ed.] by David R. Morrow & Anthony Weston
The Imaginative Argument – A Practical Manifesto For Writers by Frank L. Cioffi
The following books reviewed below cover the disturbing issues within the public schooling system:
Rotten To The Common Core by Dr. Joseph P. Farrell Ph.D.& Gary Lawrence
A Different Kind Of Teacher – Solving The Crisis Of American Schooling by John Taylor Gatto
Weapons Of Mass Instruction by John Taylor Gatto
Drilling Through The Core, by Sandra Stotsky & Contributors
The Underground History Of American Education by John Taylor Gatto
Top reviews from other countries
This may seem far-fetched to those not in the know, but this book will help you to understand what I am talking about.