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Dumbing Us Down (25th Anniversary Edition)

By: John Taylor Gatto
Narrated by: Michael Puttonen, Adam Farnsworth
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Publisher's summary

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.

©2017 John Taylor Gatto (P)2024 Post Hypnotic Press Inc.
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What listeners say about Dumbing Us Down (25th Anniversary Edition)

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Love it! You will not be sorry you heard or read this book! Big motivation for homeschooling.

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Loved the book not the narrator

Narrator imbued an air of pompousness in his intonation. Felt contrived and obviously not the author speaking.

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Teachers Read This

Engrossing to the core! Examine your own education experience and question your own beliefs. Parents, grandparents, teachers and support staff must read!

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