Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher's Journey Through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling

Recommend to every adult.

This book is an eye opener. It not only gave me reassurance that I had done the right thing by choosing to remove my unhappy children from school, it made me see my whole school life through a different lense. All feelings of doubt about swimming against the current and choosing to homeschool were replaced by a strong feeling that I was making the best and only choice for the wellbeing of my children.If you are thinking of homeschooling, unschooling,or have just started and are now in that zone of " oh flip! Have I done the right thing? Where do I start?!" Buy this book. If you have children at school, it is an even more essential read.Other books that have totally transformed our experience, taken away our fears, and given me amazing guidance and clarity are Teach Your Own by John Holt and Free to Learn by Peter Gray.

There aren't many books that you read and can honestly say that they will change your life, however this is one such book.It is truly eye-opening. It's made me question much of my school and university-based education, and I regard myself as fortunate in that I studied electronic engineering - so the schooling I received did teach me some "real" ways of looking at the world.John Taylor Gatto has made me realise though that learning through trial-and-error with a few pointers along the way, builds real self-confidence, the ability to manage your own life and make your own independent decisions.The books that he recommends also provide real-insight into how some of the world's most accomplished individuals achieved what they did, e.g. Benjamin Franklin's autobiography (available for free on the Kindle).I can't recommend this book highly enough.

This was the first time I had read anything by this author and it will go down as one of those seminal moments in my life. We all have books we come across which challenge our views and ideas in a way we had not considered previously - and this was one of them.I'm aware other reviews revere other works by Gatto, but this book for me was excellent. Clearly an intelligent man with a real passion for what he is writing about, his challenge to the dogmatic, bland and conformist stance of education is loud and impressive.Essential reading if you're involved in education in any way.

This book is another masterpiece by John Taylor Gatto. A longer version of Dumbing Us Down with updated information, and a better organized structure.The book is mainly divided into short stories, speeches, and infused with clearly stated arguments for the reader to agree or disagree with. His stories are inspiring and he employs them well in his arguments, which slightly nudges the reader emotionally towards agreeing with them (nothing wrong with that since the stories are a part of the premise as I see them).It is an inspiring work that completely removes the cover off the schooling system and its purposes, it removes the artificial blanket we have all been hiding under with regards to economic prosperity, creativity, and their connection to schooling, and leaves this sick institution bare and naked for us to examine and hopefully reject (or if reformed, then probably it needs to be called something else, as it has to be fundamentally reformed that it will definitely lose its name).I recommend it as a read along with Dumbing Us Down and as a complementary work. It is eye-opening, inspiring, and well structured.One negative aspect is the lack of clear referencing in the book. Those who are familiar with the works the author is referring to and the philosophies of the characters that compiled the schooling system and gave it birth would agree with his quotes and trust them, yet they are required as proper references in order to assist whoever want to pursue this topic academically. That is my only negative remark on the book.

So interesting - so absolutely making our decision to unschool make more and more sense. It also seems to be uncovering a few of my own wounds from the past - from my institutionalised upbringing. It is very much about the school system in the US - but very relevant to anywhere with kids in schools...

Every person who view themselves as a critical thinker should have this book on their shelf. When you have many questions yourself in the back of your mind about present day education, sometimes uncomfortable questions, this book answers. I have much admiration for Gatto, not simply because he has gone against the grain, but because he has had the bravery to speak from the heart about an education system which causes such damage. Well done.

As a school teacher this book has turned my world upside down, I don't think I'll ever be able to look at school the same way again.

I like it. It's vital to be read and assessed -- very factual and inspiring. This material remains an outstanding source of informative debate for all who desires to know the power of hidden knowledge that will wake many up.

Very good book about education. While he makes some spurious claims, a lot of what he says about the systems of education around the world are very enlightening.

This school teacher with thirty years teaching experience reveals the inner workings of the school system and will make you seriously reconsider your view of education and how the school system has affected it. His books are a great motivation for anyone considering home schooling, and are handy to loan to skeptical friends & family of home schoolers. In this particular book he "focuses on mechanisms of compulsory schooling which cripple imagination and discourage critical thinking. Here is a demonstration that the harm school inflicts is quite rational and deliberate. The real function of pedagogy is to render the common population manageable, remove the obligation of child care from adult workers so they are free to fuel the industrial economy and to train the next generation into subservient obedience to the state."His books have helped me to rethink my view of education- what it can be, what it should be, and what it isn't in America. I've found this to be of great help as my husband and I have decided to educate our own children, so that rather than bringing "school" home, we instead incorporate education and real-life learning experiences into our life, and seek out apprenticeship opportunities for our kids. This is not a home schooling book though. Those who don't home school will benefit by realizing how deficient schools are, so that they can take up the task of filling the void in non-school hours.I also highly recommend reading his other books:Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling(which shows the deliberate dumbing down of the American School System, and displays "how the U.S. educational system cranks out students the way Detroit cranks out Buicks. He contends that students are more programmed to conform to economic and social norms rather than really taught to think.")The Underground History of American Education: A School Teacher's Intimate Investigation Into the Problem of Modern Schooling(a huge work in which he exposes the errors of short-answer tests, bells, uniform time blocks, age-grading, standardization, and all the rest of school religion. This groundbreaking, revolutionary work will change the way you look at the process and even the very concept of public education. Every parent should read this book! It shows how compulsory schooling came to be as it is in America with a lure of utopia and a very strong Prussian connection (which should be cause for much concern). It also exposes the affects of compulsory schooling on America, drawing both from history (showing alarming drops in education, literacy, and much more) and 30 years of school-teaching experience. You can read this one online for free from his website. (Amazon won't let me put in a link, so just google his name and you'll find it.)**Although I can't give a direct link in this review, you can find my website by accessing my profile. I mention that because I have a LOT of great resources on my site for those who are in the process of rethinking education and determining what that means for them and their children.**

Great analysis and debunking of one our society's Emperor's New Clothes myths - which it takes someone fearless and intelligent to reveal. We have to deconstruct the partial and skewed structure of the system as practiced to allow real change in society and the future to happen - to allow creative and rebellious energy to overthrow the creaky old white corporate apparatchiks that have been running the show for a century. JT Gatto does this, and makes you angry and inspired not to be fooled again, in equal measure. I'm a teacher teaching other things now, and I can't go back into the system before a move to break this hegemony is made. I'm adding my small part to this. Buy this book. It will change how you view schools, what education is for, and life in general.

AWESOME