Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling
With over 70,000 copies of the first edition in print, this radical treatise on public education has been a New Society Publishers’ bestseller for 10 years! 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. This second edition describes the wide-spread impact of the book and Gatto’s "guerrilla teaching."\ John Gatto has been a teacher for 30 years...
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A new look for a radical bestseller! Library Journal In this tenth-anniversary edition, Gatto updates his theories on how the U.S. educational system cranks out students the way Detroit cranks out Buicks. He contends that students are more programmed to conform to economic and social norms rather than really taught to think. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
ForewordxiiiIntroduction to the Second EditionxviiPublisher's Note--from the First EditionxxxAbout the Authorxxxiii1.The Seven-Lesson Schoolteacher12.The Psychopathic School203.The Green Monongahela354.We Need Less School, Not More465.The Congregational Principle73Afterword: Ten Years Later95
\ Library JournalIn this tenth-anniversary edition, Gatto updates his theories on how the U.S. educational system cranks out students the way Detroit cranks out Buicks. He contends that students are more programmed to conform to economic and social norms rather than really taught to think. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.\ \ \ \ \ WomanSource Catalog & Review: Tools for Connecting the Community for WomenSchool reform is all the rage these days; there is talk of a national cirriculum, of a return to the "basics," of computers in every classroom. But will these changes ensure a better education for our children? John Gatto, a New York City schoolteacher for 26 years, says "no." He points out that no matter how good the teachers or how progressive the texts, it is the structure of our school system that is the dominant factor in a child's education, teaching them to obey without question, give the answer that is expected, do only what is demanded and conform at all costs. Between school and television, kids have little opportunity to interact with their communities, explore ideas that interest them and persue learning experiences with different adults. Only by returning control over educational options to families and communities can we produce citizens who will be actively engaged in their world.\ —FGP\ \
