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

Good read and lots of facts to support the points made

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.

Such a good read for homeschooling parents and people who are on the fence about homeschooling! I loved reading this book so much I recommended it other families I know. You have to read the entire thing to understand what is going on, you won’t understand from this one piece in the beginning.

As a former teacher, when I started to consider homeschooling, I really struggled with what to actually do at home. In my mind I had the idea that to homeschool I needed to replicate public school, at home. However, when I read Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto, all of that changed. Gatto's book opened my eyes to the idea of less school for more learning. Now I do want to be clear here, I am not one for conspiracy theories. I don't think that there is some master puppeteer trying to make our kids in to zombies or sluggards. Instead I think Gatto makes clear arguments for why our American education system must be changed. On page 69 Gatto compels us to "Break up these institutional schools, decertify teaching, let anyone who has a mind to teach bid for customers, privatize this whole business-trust the free market system." I have to say that it makes a lot of sense. The public school system is broken, period. No one can argue that but I think the portion of Gatto's writing on page 55 is a crucial aspect of why our society is struggling so much. He writes: "By isolating young and old from working life of places and by isolating the working population from the lives of young and old, institutions and networks have brought about a fundamental disconnection of the generations. The griefs that arise from this have no synthetic remedy; no vibrant. satisfying communities can come into being where young and old are locked away." Teachers are also dealing with children that are growing up in an isolated bubble of people their own age, rather than experiencing all of the stages of life. If students don't get to see what else life has to offer why would the care about learning more and doing better? Overall, Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto, is an argument for why privatized schooling and homeschooling are so crucial. If you are on the fence about your children remaining in public school this book is for you.

OK, so Gatto had STRONG opinions about the modern US school structures. This book was written in 1992 with a few updates from 2017, so most of the statements apply to NY schools in the 70's, 80's & 90's. Since I went to school then, I did a whole lot of nodding and "you ain't kiddin man" and other Gen X stuff like that. A good chunk of it still applies, BUT: 1: Gatto was quite conservative. If that's your jam, you'll love him. If it's not, you'll probably mutter "WT-" a lot. 2: Schools have changed in interesting ways since this book was written. I just kept thinking "my Dude, you retired before cell phones and TikTok took over classrooms... you have NO idea..." 3: School bullying hasn't exactly gone away, but the manner in which it happens is quite different now than it was then. It's less "stuff you in a locker" and more "incessant and insidious online harassment..." Which is one of the top reasons parents turn to homeschooling now. The book is largely anti-establishment, anti-administration, anti-standardization, anti-teach-to-the-test (heard), and has a lot of nostalgia. Gatto won teaching awards when admin got out of his way. He was a big proponent of self-directed learning. He supported a practical experience-based learning model, and a facilitator-not-teacher model. This book is beloved by the Unschooling community for a lot of good reasons. It is NOT anti-school. It is asking for much-needed school reform, some of which has happened, but not enough to combat the move towards more rigid curriculums and lock-step teaching models of the last 20 years. TBH I'm not sure how valuable it is for people actively homeschooling, IMO most homeschoolers have taken that route for just the reasons Gatto listed here. It was certainly cathartic reading for me. I don't agree with everything he had to say, but that's not necessary for it to be a good book. I do think it's worth a read for parents of kids who are struggling in the highly structured public school system IF they are considering homeschooling. Just keep in mind it is older and things have changed. If nothing else, it's short.

Education is a business. This became evident to me in college when my professors were all writing textbooks for each other to demand as curriculum and kept writing new versions each year which were exactly the same. The honest professors refused to force us to buy the new version. My daughter graduated high school with no sense of what she enjoyed. She enrolled into college only with the sense she was supposed to go , with no clue what subjects she even wanted to explore. How can she spend a hundred thousand on an education she doesn't even know if she wants. I know very few with a degree in the field they desire. School was ingrained as a must do. She dropped out after two semesters and I'm so proud of her for finally finding her own way. My other four I am homeschooling, all of them have more a sense of these things than they did a few months ago when I pulled them out. They have not vomited, had meltdowns, or migraines since I pulled them out of that place after being urged to not send them there daily. I was so stressed until I read this. I had brought them home only to try to match public school curriculum here- still stressing them. I tucked it away and let them pick. They are making holograms, playing ukulele, taking engineering and youtuber courses and reading history from college level textbooks which provide the narrative and intertwine the stories so they understand what happened and why these events are significant. They are no longer being forced to memorize random arbitrary dates. They aren't being graded or measured or answering with what color they are on (behavior chart) at school when I asked how their day was. We are not simply de schooling, we are rinsing our brains from the brainwashing . I wrote down two goals for my children to start which are self discovery and to self educate of which neither does public school teach. We just want to get the ick off us!!! Critical thinking is a list art. Solitude is a must.

You're gonna love his style. Great insights from a true hero. Get a copy.

Thank you, Mr. Gatto. This book was an eye opener into the strategic way the school system is structured. I actually taught for two years as a high school English teacher and I knew it wasn't for me. This book solidified my decision to leave and I'm happy I did.

Se tardó en llegar pero llegó. Llegó en buen estado y se ve que está interesante.

A must read for every one who cares about children and society.

Mr Gatto is nailing down an issue that stands clear in front of us, using a very effective language. A book that I am actively reccomending.

Ótima leitura para os interessados no tema da Educação.

Highly recommended for educators, families or curious minds interested in rethinking our approach to education.