Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling
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Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 533 ratings
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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.

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  1. Listening Length
    3 hours and 19 minutes
  2. Author
    John Taylor Gatto
  3. Narrator
    Michael Puttonen
  4. Audible release date
    May 9, 2012
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Post Hypnotic Press, Inc.
  7. ASIN
    B0081TFXWC
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 3 hours and 19 minutes
Author John Taylor Gatto
Narrator Michael Puttonen
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date May 09, 2012
Publisher Post Hypnotic Press, Inc.
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B0081TFXWC
Best Sellers Rank #6,771 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#9 in 21st Century History
#36 in Education (Audible Books & Originals)
#51 in Homeschooling (Books)

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
533 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

V. K. Mueller
5.0 out of 5 stars What an awesome book!
Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2012
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My mom bought this book for me a couple years ago. I finally pulled it out of a box and remembered I had it! If only I had read it sooner! Then I would have known sooner that I'm NOT crazy! While it is true that Gatto spends some time speaking of His credentials and those of His colleagues, I believe that is one thing that helps give this book a better standing. He has seen it from inside the "zoo." I can also see how some of what He says may also apply to private schools as well as public. I grew up going to a private school and although it was not a bad school, it certainly had it's share of bullies and poor teachers. I remember ONE teacher that really made a POSITIVE difference to me. My first teacher was lousy. I can remember her lying to my parents about how well I was doing in math. I still struggle with math since I did not have a good foundation. Now, fast forward several years and I'm grown up. My husband and I have two children. I am on the school board of that same private school and my kids went to it for one year. Although it is much larger now. I believe the quality of the school and the teachers at this time are great. Although, the year that my kids were in it really frustrated me. My son was on the honor roll for much of that time. My daughter wanted to spend her time socializing INSTEAD of working. My sons teacher at the time stated that He was struggling with math and it was suggested that I put Him in a "special" math class this year. My son had been getting almost all A's! Don't get me wrong-I really love the people at the school and it is true they all have Masters degrees and credentials. I only have a GED and a few college credits. Many of their arguments to get me to keep the kids in- helped cement the plan to keep them out. Our kids don't need to be in school for 7 hours and another 2 hours doing homework. Now, I am homeschooling our children again. Our son and daughter are doing very well. They can get more work done at home in the morning then they did all day at school. WE get to pick and choose their curriculum AND extracurricular activities. We choose the hours they work best. Busy boy and girl can take bathroom breaks when they need to and low blood sugar isn't a problem with the kitchen close by. Both of our children socialize several times a week at their art, sewing and gymnastic classes and on the weekend they enjoy church and enjoy church socials. All of these keep them plenty busy. Math and English etc they do well in. Reading? They read books that many high schoolers have a hard time reading! We skipped preschool. It wasn't necessary. Many people have told me how they enjoy being around them-our kids have not suffered. They are excelling! So if anyone else out there chooses to homeschool and is concerned you can do it- YES YOU CAN! Schools are NOT necessary for a good education. Credentials or not, you can do it! Allow your children to have an education AND a childhood! Love this book!
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ZyPhReX
5.0 out of 5 stars A Truly Must-Read Book Exposing The Current Dismal State Of Public Schooling
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2017
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John Taylor Gatto is an award winning teacher that isn’t afraid to buck the trend.

Dumbing Us Down – The Hidden Curriculum Of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto is a masterly an in-depth view into how public schooling really works.

Sampling many of his best personal essays, Dumbing Us Down features the true reasons why education in our modern day system is failing: because it’s meant to be that way.

Gatto reinforces his main premise with a thorough examination of public schooling in America. He carries this out rather incisively given his no holds barred approach to the matter, and this is very refreshing.

While many others have tippy toed their way around the issue, Gatto harpoons the heart of the matter with statements such as:

“…schools and schooling are increasingly irrelevant to the great enterprises of the planet. No one believes anymore that scientists are trained in science classes or politicians in civics classes or poets in English classes. The truth is that schools don’t really teach anything except how to obey orders.”[1][Bold Emphasis Added]

“Schools are intended to produce, through the application of formulas, formulaic human beings whose behavior can be predicted and controlled.”[2][Bold Emphasis Added]

“It is absurd and anti-life to be part of the system that compels you to sit in confinement with people of exactly the same age and social class. That system effectively cuts you off from the immense diversity of life and the synergy of variety; indeed it cuts you off from your own past and future, sealing you in a continuous present much the same way television does.”[3][Bold Emphasis Added]

Such scathing statements leave no question to Gatto’s courageous stance, and helps the reader understand the plight we face rather cogently.

Another component of this ongoing public schooling issue is how vital the community is, and more importantly, the family unit, in helping foster a healthier, more independent, more curious, and ultimately more self-sufficient individuals through proper education. While this might seem obvious in hindsight, it isn’t being employed that much at all in our modern environs.

Throughout the length of the book, Gatto fiercely touches upon the many different factors that have helped cause this growing dilemma. Some of these include the overwhelming amount of television being watched by society in general, and more specifically by children, while other components have to deal with the inherent designs of schooling such as the fragmentation of education, the removal of the family from an individual’s education, the poor life tenets individuals are taught, and much more.

One of the best parts of the book is what Gatto calls ‘The 7-Lesson School Teacher’, where the author shows what teachers are truly expected to inculcate into students. Once read, this particular lesson to the reader might seem facetious, but it’s really not. When one views what Gatto is stating with an open mind – while keeping cognizance of the fact that he worked decades for the system – then one completely gets to be aware of why failure in schooling isn’t the exception, but the rule.

In fact, more specifically, Gatto gets at the heart of why public schooling is destined to fail:

“Mass education cannot work to produce a fair society because its daily practice is practice in rigged competition, suppression and intimidation. The schools we’ve allowed to develop can’t work to teach nonmaterial values, the values which give meaning to everyone’s life, rich or poor, because the structure of schooling is held together by a Byzantine tapestry of reward and threat, of carrots and sticks. Official favor, grades, and other trinkets of subordination have no connection with education; they are the paraphernalia of servitude, not of freedom.”[69][Bold Emphasis Added]

Gatto has unbounded a phenomenal book in the field of public schooling and more importantly, what true education should encompass. Please keep in mind, schooling and education are not the same thing. Particularly, this differentiation and what each means is one of the main gems of this book.

To finalize, this book is a veritable fountain of information that is intense in precision and thought-provoking in its implications given that they filter into all aspects of our lives, and ultimately seep into the future. This is why it’s vitally important for individuals to become autodidacts, and help others become so through our interactions with our families and communities. Self-teaching is more important now than ever, especially with the deteriorating effects of public schooling.

Because of all the reasons mentioned above, and myriad more, this book is definitely a must read for everyone.

As the author saliently notes:

“Aristotle saw, a long time ago, that fully participating in a complex range of human affairs was the only way to become fully human…”[47][Bold Emphasis Added]

____________________________________________________
Sources & References:

[1] John Taylor Gatto, Dumbing Us Down – The Hidden Curriculum Of Compulsory Schooling, pg. 21.
[2] Ibid., pg. 23.
[3] Ibid., pg. 24.
[4] Ibid., pg. 69.
[5] Ibid., pg. 47.
____________________________________________________
Suggested resources reviewed below for those seeking ideas to self-teach and become autodidacts:

Socratic Logic V3.1 by Peter Kreeft Ph.D.
The Trivium – The Liberal Arts Of Grammar & Rhetoric by Sister Miriam Joseph Ph.D.
How To Read A Book – The Classic Guide To Intelligent Reading by Mortimer J. Adler & Charles Van Doren
Philosophy 101 – An Introduction To Philosophy Via Plato’s Apology by Peter Kreeft Ph.D.
The Complete Workbook For Arguments – A Complete Course In Critical Thinking [2nd Ed.] by David R. Morrow & Anthony Weston
The Imaginative Argument – A Practical Manifesto For Writers by Frank L. Cioffi

The following books reviewed below cover the disturbing issues within the public schooling system:

Rotten To The Common Core by Dr. Joseph P. Farrell Ph.D.& Gary Lawrence
A Different Kind Of Teacher – Solving The Crisis Of American Schooling by John Taylor Gatto
Weapons Of Mass Instruction by John Taylor Gatto
Drilling Through The Core, by Sandra Stotsky & Contributors
The Underground History Of American Education by John Taylor Gatto
165 people found this helpful
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Carolina
5.0 out of 5 stars Clear and straight to the point
Reviewed in Spain on July 2, 2023
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One of the best books I read on the reasons why the educational system is failing so dramatically.
It has been many years and I still remember its key points, I took to heart some of the things that impacted me the most. I recommend it to anybody who wishes to get a historical overview on the origins of schooling and who wants to understand why some things are the way they are.
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Alex Serpas-Lopez
5.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in Canada on December 27, 2018
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An eye opener for those who are just starting on this journey of staying informed and educated.
One person found this helpful
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Cliente Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect.....
Reviewed in Italy on August 23, 2016
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Consiglio a tutti gli insegnanti di ogni genere! Splendido e rivoluzionario! Ci mai potrà accettare un simile cambiamento non solo della scuola , ma della intera società. ..
3 people found this helpful
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Paula Cleary
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for any freethinking person
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 20, 2008
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John Taylor Gatto's analysis of government schooling as being a form of controlling and suppressing the masses is spot on.

I decided to home educate my kids because I didn't want school to get in the way of their education. Schools don't actually serve individuals very well at all....all they do is provide a steady supply of compliant, conformist, disempowered clone worker consumerists. They do not nurture individuality, critical thinking, love and compassion, but instead cause divisions by creating a kind of caste system where every child quickly learns their place in the pyramid, only to rise to the top by trampling on others and surrendering to rules designed to persecute anyone who deviates from conformity and obedience to the system.

If you think kids should be allowed to grow up and learn in a way that is free from any political agenda, and that the purpose of education is surely not just to raise little conformist consumers to keep the economic machine marching on, then this book is for you. Schools really aren't doing the job they are supposed to do, so maybe it's time we took things into our own hands and those of the children themselves. Kids are often way too smart for school and being held back by idiotic policies and beaurocracy and so on. Search your feelings - you know it's true!
64 people found this helpful
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Kristine B
5.0 out of 5 stars More influential than any other book about homeschooling
Reviewed in Canada on April 21, 2016
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More than any other book about homeschooling, this one -- about the public school system -- has been the most influential among parents who decide to homeschool their kids.
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