Dumbing Us Down (25th Anniversary Edition): The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars | 1,861 ratings

Price: 13.08

Last update: 09-07-2024


About this item

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 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.


Top reviews from the United States

Brtt
5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal!
Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2021
This book was PHENOMENAL! As a homemaker who has always homeschooled our children—this book was another reminder that we chose the correct path from the beginning! Our children are light years ahead of their peers + we spend a fraction of the time on “schooling.” They love being outside in nature, are obsessed w/ reading, figuring out how things work, want to research about bugs, animals plants etc., ask questions constantly, are super curious, kind etc. As a product of the public school system, I have had to drop, while still working on it, a few of these concepts that were intentionally embedded in my head. I need to get out of their way—give them more opportunities to figure it out! Ask them more questions about what they are interested in—would like to learn. This book speaks heavily on the loss of community + the “jailing” of the old + the young. A reminder that the young need the old + vice versa! A true community is the only way we can thrive! If your children are still a part of the system—this book should make you angry enough to remove them! If you’re already homeschooling—this books should encourage you to create a stronger bond w/in your community + drop any institutional ideologies that we may still be carrying +/or projecting onto our children. This book is a quick read. Mark up those pages + go back for reference. May we all live + be Monongahela.
Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A refreshing new view on the educational system.
Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2024
I couldn't believe it until I read through this book how the school system we were taught to uphold is the same one dumbing us down. John Gatto emphasizes how less education can actually lead to more and how people would be better off exploring their own passions instead of spending most of their day confined to a room where they are taught not to trust questions but to memorize answers. How the education system is designed to rob us of the best years of our youth and put us in the mindset of being confined into a room all day; once I picked it up, I didn't want to put it down. This is an amazing perspective from a former teacher.
Spiritualvegan
5.0 out of 5 stars Government schooling brainwashing exposed
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2024
Absolutely incredible book exposing the brainwashing of government schooling, and our government in general
Marie
5.0 out of 5 stars Eye-Opening and Thought-Provoking
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2023
One of the book's strengths is its brevity, which mirrors the concise and impactful nature of Gatto's ideas. It's a quick read, but its content will linger in your mind long after you've turned the last page.
While "Dumbing Us Down" may challenge your beliefs about education, it does so with the intention of sparking much-needed conversations about reforming our school systems. It's a must-read for educators, parents, and anyone interested in the future of education.
Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Vitriolic Treatise Against Public Education in the United States
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2020
As with most reviews I do (which admittedly are not many) - I will speak to two things: the mechanics of the actual writing, and the subject.

First, mechanics: Gatto is a very good presenter of ideas and information. I supposed this comes from being an educator, and most especially an educator in public education systems. I found the flow of the text easy to follow, and even though there is much editorializing by Gatto, it was engaging and passionate, and whether I agreed with it or not, I enjoyed it.

Second, subject: Gatto resigned his post as a teacher after a number of years, citing frustrations around the manner in which education is designed/deployed in public schools in the US. As a product of public education myself, I can agree with at least one thing here: public education did very little to develop a love of learning for me. But my parents did. And where the public school system fell short, my parents succeeded. From the time I was child until my parents were deceased, I was encouraged to read, ask questions, think for myself, weigh answers, find evidence, etc. About anything and everything. Gatto suggests that public education "dumbs" this down, and reduces the child/young adult to a automaton designed to fit into capitalist work society. I suspect there may be truth to this, but unlike Gatto, I do not think this is by design. Gatto believes it to be an intentional gap in public education, whereas I disagree. Since I disagreed with this, I gave the book four stars instead of five.

Overall it is a very good, well-written book that presents food for thought in an easy-to-understand fashion.

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