[D66] Weapons of Mass Instruction

[R.O.]

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  Weapons of Mass Instruction

    John Taylor Gatto
    New Society Publishers

    Last Updated: 23 February 2016 


I'm a John Taylor Gatto fan, so I think I've read most of the books he's 
written. In my opinion, /Weapons of Mass/ /Instruction/ is probably his 
best yet. While I loved his last book, /Underground History of American 
Education/, it's a very long book that can overwhelm the reader who is 
merely curious. On the other hand, /Weapons of Mass Instruction/ weighs 
in at only 214, very readable pages.

For those unfamiliar with Gatto, his basic theme is this: Compulsory 
schooling was instituted for political and social control. In spite of 
horror stories of school malfeasance, the school system actually 
accomplishes it's goal fairly well. The result is a dumbed-down, 
compliant society that suits the needs of government and big business. 
However, the byproduct of this system is tremendous harm to individuals, 
families, and society. Gatto is on a crusade to build resistance to and 
rejection of compulsory schooling by showing us how we have been duped 
into believing in the necessity of compulsory, government-run schooling.

Gatto gathers his ammunition for this book from the prodigious amount of 
reading and research he has done over the years. He incorporates 
articles, speeches, and letters he has written, all tied to his theme. 
He teaches some fascinating history lessons that actually help to prove 
his point since they are perfect examples of "things we weren't taught" 
because they might upset our acceptance of the way things are. As with 
his other books, Gatto eschews footnotes. If you want to track the 
actual source of a reference, you'll have to search it out for yourself 
in most cases.

Gatto's storytelling skill shines as he relates tales of real people who 
fled the school system and succeeded in spite of the popular wisdom that 
insists on diplomas, degrees, and credentials ... and he makes the case 
that schooling often deadens a person's capacity to be independent, 
creative, and innovative—traits typical of many highly successful people.

If you know someone working through the college search and application 
process, you might want to have them read his " A Letter to My 
Granddaughter about Dartmouth" chapter where he shares his dismal view 
of Ivy League institutions. According to Gatto, education in America 
doesn't really improve at most colleges and universities.

For those readers who find his thesis far-fetched, in the last chapter 
Gatto relates three stories of government intervention that buttress his 
case. One of these stories is of Gatto's experience of having his own 
lecture at a high school halted midstream by an entire squad of police—a 
school superintendent apparently found the history lessons too disturbing.

Gatto ends the book with an "Afterword" urging students to join what he 
calls The Bartleby Project. Since standardized tests are the lynchpin of 
the system, the concept is that students themselves can launch peaceful 
attacks against the system by simply and politely refusing to take the 
tests. Personally, I wonder how many students will actually work up the 
nerve to join the testing resistance. A stronger "attack" could be 
accomplished by parents removing their own children from the system AND 
refusing to use standards-based curricula and standardized tests.

If you are just beginning to suspect there might be a problem with 
schooling (as opposed to educating as Gatto would say), then you'll not 
likely find a better exposé of the problem than /Weapons of Mass 
Instruction./

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