Dumbing Us Down

The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

John Taylor Gatto, Zachary Slayback

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English

New Society Publishers
27 July 2017

Sociology; Philosophy & theory of education; Open learning, home learning, distance education; Central government policies; Advice on parenting

Throw off the shackles of formal schooling and embark upon a rich journey of self-directed, life-long learning.

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, accomplishing little but to teach young people to follow orders like cogs in an industrial machine.

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's radical treatise on public education, a New Society Publishers bestseller for 25 years, 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.

Featuring a new foreword from Zachary Slayback, an Ivy League dropout and cofounder of tech start-up career foundry Praxis, this 25th anniversary edition will inspire new generations of parents and students to take control of learning and kickstart an empowered society of self-directed lifetime-learners.

John Taylor Gatto has been a fierce advocate for self-directed ""guerrilla"" education for decades. He is also the author of Weapons of Mass Instruction and The Underground History of American Education.

By: John Taylor Gatto
Foreword by: Zachary Slayback
Imprint: New Society Publishers
Country of Publication: United States
Edition: 25th Anniversary Edition
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 7mm
Weight: 239g
ISBN: 9780865718548
ISBN 10: 0865718547
Pages: 144
Publication Date: 27 July 2017
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

John Gatto was a schoolteacher for 30 years. He resigned in the Op-Ed pages of The New York Times 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 . Zachary Slayback is an entrepreneur, Ivy League dropout, and communicator, focusing on issues of education, innovation, and social change. He's the author of The End of School (2016) and a founding team member at Praxis, an apprenticeship program for young people looking for a real-world education.