Local author challenges educational system in latest offering
NORWICH – Local author and speaker John Taylor Gatto, a self-described “freelance, unaffiliated critic of institutional schooling worldwide,” will speak from 5 to 8 p.m. on June 9 in the Guernsey Memorial Library meeting room at 3 Court St.
Gatto’s latest book, and the topic of next week’s seminar, “Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher’s Journey through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling,” challenges readers with a unique, in-depth and controversial analysis of the modern educational system, designed to “match the population to the mass production economy, according to Gatto.
“I had to bear witness with what I saw happening,” stated Gatto, who, during his 30 years as a public school teacher, won a combined five Teacher of the Year awards in both New York State and New York City. “I’ve been doing this now for over 20 years, with over three million miles traveled, and I still wake up angry and go to bed angry.”
In 1991, Gatto said he was “no longer willing to hurt children,” and resigned as a schoolteacher, following which he published his first book, “Dumbing Us Down,” which has sold over 150,000 copies to date.
Since then, he has traveled to all 50 states and 13 other countries, including England, Holland, Spain, Australia and China, all in an effort to explain his theory of “why schools operate the way they operate.”
“As the twenty-first century begins its second decade, mass schooling is much as it was in 1910, at least for the poor and ordinary,” said Gatto, who added the modern educational system is “test-driven, bell-driven, pedagogue-dominated and thoroughly dumbed down.”
“Nobody with an ounce of common sense asks for, or makes use of, test scores when hiring,” stated Gatto. “You don’t ask your barber, your grass cutter, or your baby-sitter, doctor, or architect for their own test numbers because on some level you know the data is worthless, however many tens of billions of dollars it took to produce.”
“Standardized schooling cannot meet the challenges of our time,” he added.
“We’re looking forward to the conversation he’ll be holding with the audience,” said Guernsey Memorial Library Director Sarah Wiggins. “We’re hoping for a good turnout.”
For more information on the June 9 lecture, call 334-4034 or visit www.guernseylibrary.org.
Gatto’s latest book, and the topic of next week’s seminar, “Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher’s Journey through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling,” challenges readers with a unique, in-depth and controversial analysis of the modern educational system, designed to “match the population to the mass production economy, according to Gatto.
“I had to bear witness with what I saw happening,” stated Gatto, who, during his 30 years as a public school teacher, won a combined five Teacher of the Year awards in both New York State and New York City. “I’ve been doing this now for over 20 years, with over three million miles traveled, and I still wake up angry and go to bed angry.”
In 1991, Gatto said he was “no longer willing to hurt children,” and resigned as a schoolteacher, following which he published his first book, “Dumbing Us Down,” which has sold over 150,000 copies to date.
Since then, he has traveled to all 50 states and 13 other countries, including England, Holland, Spain, Australia and China, all in an effort to explain his theory of “why schools operate the way they operate.”
“As the twenty-first century begins its second decade, mass schooling is much as it was in 1910, at least for the poor and ordinary,” said Gatto, who added the modern educational system is “test-driven, bell-driven, pedagogue-dominated and thoroughly dumbed down.”
“Nobody with an ounce of common sense asks for, or makes use of, test scores when hiring,” stated Gatto. “You don’t ask your barber, your grass cutter, or your baby-sitter, doctor, or architect for their own test numbers because on some level you know the data is worthless, however many tens of billions of dollars it took to produce.”
“Standardized schooling cannot meet the challenges of our time,” he added.
“We’re looking forward to the conversation he’ll be holding with the audience,” said Guernsey Memorial Library Director Sarah Wiggins. “We’re hoping for a good turnout.”
For more information on the June 9 lecture, call 334-4034 or visit www.guernseylibrary.org.
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