John Taylor Gatto books

[youvebeenthunderstruck]

John Taylor Gatto is a retired American teacher, who is a strong critic of compulsory education. He wrote a book, which can be viewed for free, on his website. His website is www.johntaylorgatto.com/, and the book can be found at http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/chapters/.

He has also written other books, 4 if I recall correctly. More information can be found about him elsewhere.

(the other books aren't free and require the transaction of money for book)

[Agnapostate]

Yes, he's a good author. He won several teaching awards before he resigned, actually.

[Chuplayer]

I read this online years ago. It's an excellent read.

[Puchiko]

Any reason this is a sticky? Not that I object or anything, just that I don't see the reason.

[youvebeenthunderstruck]

Because not many people know that he has a free book.

[Agnapostate]

The one problem I have with Gatto is he supports a sort of "anarcho-capitalist" school system in place of the current "totalitarian socialist" system. He would replace state funded and authoritarian schools with privately funded "free schools." Honestly, I still support including the socialist aspect of state funding for education. In many cases, a libertarian private school would be inaccessible to the poor and disenfranchised, and may cause just as much damage as an authoritarian socialist school. I would support free state-funded education for every citizen, and thus the ideal model would be the libertarian socialist school.

[itsacorporatething]

I agree with you, Agnapostate. From what I've read of "underground history", I can tell that his perspective is definitely from a right libertarian background. It would have been much nicer if it was from a more anarchist or Marxist perspective. It is just a matter of preference I suppose. The analysis remains just as valuable either way.

[dreamer...]

I just finished Dumbing Us Down. Great book for the most part, although I disagree with a few of Gatto's points. His description of the "7 Lesson Schoolteacher" is so utterly true. It's an inspiring collection of essays, and I would definitely recommend it.
Now I'll just have to get a hold of Gatto's other books.

[Jackass McAwesome]

Hee hee.

In my 'net ban, I managed to pick up Dumbing Us Down. I actually could've got Underground History, but Mom made me choose one. I DID read a good amount of Underground at my alternative school, and I got one of the teachers interested in the anti-school view.

[Puchiko]

Agnapostate Wrote:The one problem I have with Gatto is he supports a sort of "anarcho-capitalist" school system in place of the current "totalitarian socialist" system. He would replace state funded and authoritarian schools with privately funded "free schools." Honestly, I still support including the socialist aspect of state funding for education. In many cases, a libertarian private school would be inaccessible to the poor and disenfranchised, and may cause just as much damage as an authoritarian socialist school. I would support free state-funded education for every citizen, and thus the ideal model would be the libertarian socialist school.

Here's my opinion. As long as the state is forcing the people to pay taxes, funding (but not controlling) schools is the least it can do. However, I support the abolishment of the state in the long run, and we all know something that doesn't exist can't provide funding. People could use the half of their salary that they currently turn over to the state to pay for schools.

[returnal]

Must. Read. Now.
Does anybody know if they stock Dumbing Us Down in North Texas Barnes and Nobles or Borders?

[Will]

Maybe I should post my entire anti-school bibliography.

[SoulRiser]

Quote:Maybe I should post my entire anti-school bibliography.

Please do... I could do with some more suggestions for the /books/ section actually.

[Jackass McAwesome]

Newtown Wrote:Must. Read. Now.
Does anybody know if they stock Dumbing Us Down in North Texas Barnes and Nobles or Borders?

I got mine in the Middle Georgia Barnes n' Noble, so since it's in the South you may find it. Just ask them ladies at the little book hunting center thingy, and they'll lead ya' to it.

[returnal]

Oni-Chiisu Wrote:

Newtown Wrote:Must. Read. Now.
Does anybody know if they stock Dumbing Us Down in North Texas Barnes and Nobles or Borders?

I got mine in the Middle Georgia Barnes n' Noble, so since it's in the South you may find it. Just ask them ladies at the little book hunting center thingy, and they'll lead ya' to it.

Thanksees.

u haz star 4 win

[The Desert Fox]

Any chance I could find them in Pittsburgh?

[Will]

I generally suggest buying books online for loads of reasons. I have no idea as to whether you can find his books in Pittsburgh. You can find one of his books online, and if you can't order online for some reason, I may be able to mail you a copy.

[The Desert Fox]

Sweet, thanks.

[Hanny]

I have Dumbing Us Down, waiting to be read.

[NowhereWoman]

I've just started reading John Holt, and it's very interesting how much of what he writes has to do not only with school, but with psychology and the world.
I need to read JTG, though, and it's hard to find the time or concentration to read his online book....
To AMAZON!
(hey, my dad let me buy Teenage Liberation Handbook...)

[Coma Girl]

i should condense the version down, and then slip them in around the library ^_^

[Will]

mangareadr Wrote:I've just started reading John Holt, and it's very interesting how much of what he writes has to do not only with school, but with psychology and the world.
I need to read JTG, though, and it's hard to find the time or concentration to read his online book....
To AMAZON!
(hey, my dad let me buy Teenage Liberation Handbook...)

I second John Holt.

And all of this stuff has to do with both school and the rest of the world because they are the same. School continues in its current form for the same reasons that other institutions do. As a society, we accept many related absurd things. Attacking one of them attacks many of the others. This is why so few of my posts concern school directly.

[LOON_ATTIC]

I'd love to get material copies of these books. It's kind of a pain to red in my laptop screen.

[Thought Criminal]

I have the teenage liberation handbook and dumbing us down. The handbook was okay but dumbing us down kicked ass.

[Trar]

I got into a discussion about the modern educational system on another forum and I showed the guy I was debating with John Taylor Gatto's articles. His reply was something like "just a disillusioned old man ranting about the system, nothing at all blah blah blah". He then went on to say that if we didn't have the current educational system nobody would go to college and all the jobs in America would be taken up by immigrants.

[LOON_ATTIC]

really

[Blobthe15]

Alfie Kohn is a good writer.

[Alistoriv]

Yeah, yeah, I'm fucking late, don't care. What JTG book would you recommend the most?

[RashedMohamed]

John Taylor Gatto (born December 15, 1935) is a retired American school teacher with nearly 30 years experience in the classroom, and author of several books on education. He is an activist critical of compulsory schooling, of the perceived divide between the teen years and adulthood, and of what he characterizes as the hegemonic nature of discourse on education and the education professions.

Dumbing Us Down
The Underground History of American Education
A different kind of teacher
The Exhausted School
Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher's Journey Through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling

[J.D.]

^seems like spambots now like to copy Wikipedia. How original.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Taylor_Gatto