DUMBING US DOWN (25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION) The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

The speeches and essays contained in this audiobook continue to be relevant decades after they were first given. A seasoned actor, narrator Michael Puttonen captures the hard-earned wisdom the author achieved. He performs at a fine tempo, with conviction and good timing. An award-winning teacher, the late John Taylor Gatto taught in the New York City school system for 30 years. His criticism comes from experience, observation, and his own attempts to work outside the norm. He defines the American public school system as stultifying, socially pyramidal, predicated on tests, and bound by bells. He takes down the school environment, which he deplores as prisonlike and against independent thought. This still pertinent, if very brief, audiobook reminds the listener why almost four million children are being homeschooled. A.D.M. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2024]