Weapons of Mass Instruction

Synopsis

John Taylor Gatto's Weapons of Mass Instruction, now available in paperback, focuses on mechanisms of traditional education that cripple imagination, discourage critical thinking, and create a false view of learning as a byproduct of rote-memorization drills. Gatto's earlier book, Dumbing Us Down, introduced the now-famous expression of the title into the common vernacular. Weapons of Mass Instruction adds another chilling metaphor to the brief against conventional schooling. Gatto demonstrates that the harm school inflicts is rational and deliberate. The real function of pedagogy, he argues, is to render the common population manageable. To that end, young people must be conditioned to rely upon experts, to remain divided from natural alliances, and to accept disconnections from their own lived experiences. They must at all costs be discouraged from developing self-reliance and independence. Escaping this trap requires strategy Gatto calls "open source learning" which imposes no artificial divisions between learning and life. Through this alternative approach, our children can avoid being indoctrinated--only then that can they achieve self-knowledge, judgment, and courage.

Copyright:

2009

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

ISBN-13:

9781550924244

Related ISBNs:

9780865716698

Publisher:

New Society Publishers

Date of Addition:

01/27/15

Copyrighted By:

John Taylor Gatto

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Nonfiction, Parenting and Family, Education, Communication, Philosophy, Politics and Government, Sociology

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.