Dumbing Us Down

The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

By: John Taylor Gatto

Narrated by: Michael Puttonen

Thirty years in New York City's public schools led John Gatto to the sad conclusion that compulsory schooling does little but teach young people to follow orders like cogs in an industrial machine. With over 100,000 copies in print since its original publication in 2002, this book is collection of essays and speeches and contains a description of the wide-spread impact of the book and Gatto's "guerrilla teaching".

About the author: John Gatto was a teacher in New York City's public schools for over 30 years and is a recipient of the New York State Teacher of the Year award. A much sought after speaker on education throughout North America, his other books include Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher’s Journey through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling, A Different Kind of Teacher, and The Underground History of American Education.

©2002 John Taylor Gatto (P)2012 Post Hypnotic Press, Inc

Do you want to pull your kids out yet?

Homeschoolers love this book. Why? It points out (and exaggerates and makes blanket stereotypical statements about) all the ills of public education. Public school education has its problems and in an ideal world we could all be tutored one-on-one by George Wyeth as Thomas Jefferson was. (google TJeD) Unfortunately, that is not the world we live in. There are so many issues brought up by this book it would take a hundred volumes of the same size to discuss them all. What came first - the chicken or the egg? the breakdown of education or the breakdown of the family? This is a good listen. It will make you think...unless you can't because you grew up in a public school as I did. (sarcasm)

Thought provoking

But full solution still not clear. Free market is an easy concept to fall back unto, but, isn't this a main feature of our - as argued in this book - ailing society?

Dumbing us down

Great book!

Gives a good insightful look into the short fallings of our school system. What we can do to better yourself and our children in the world of learning.

The inconvenient Truth of public schooling. Break Away before it's too late!

I liked everything about this book, nothing to dislike! Everyone should read this book and decide to act upon it, don't let our kids continue to suffer!

Very enlightening

I liked how well rounded it was. It in no way condemned teachers themselves, but pointed out the inherit flaws of school in an accurate historic way. I loved the emphasis on more family time.