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Weapons of Mass Instruction
- A Schoolteacher's Journey Through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling
- Narrated by: Michael Puttonen
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
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Weapons of Mass Instruction
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Summary
John Taylor Gatto's Weapons of Mass Instruction focuses on mechanisms of traditional education which 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 a 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 can they achieve self-knowledge, good judgment, and courage.
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- Stardust
- 31-03-24
You cannot un-know what you then know
Once you listen to this book you cannot un-know what you then know.
Completely recommend anyone with an interest in ‘schooling’, but more especially education reads this.
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- Ged Swanson
- 15-03-16
everyone should be aware of this.
This book is something that everyone should take the time to read/listen to. Very pleased I did.
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4 people found this helpful
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- João Nicolau Oliveira
- 28-06-20
This is one is the best books I've seen ever.
This is one is the best books I've seen ever. I wish I had read it long ago. it's rebel and goes deep into the origins of Schooling. It has potential to change the society.
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1 person found this helpful
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- herbie831
- 30-10-21
eye and mind opening
loved it... I really appreciate all the honest truths shared thank you great book 5*****
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- Secondary Teacher of art
- 27-07-20
Educating the future to be childish
I found this book only further supported the research shared by others such as David Icke. I thought David Icke was a crazy man with crazy ideas. And then I read this book and also the work of Aldus Huxley and in the words of Steve Jobs, I can see how the events through history are connecting to bring about a world with people who are easily manipulated. I always wondered why the education system, does not teach about 'Money', it does not teach about 'Investments like a Pension' even though young people are made to remain in education until they are 18.
I was a teacher for 13 years and questioned a number of ways the system did not support the whole child's needs. Then I ask, where is the voice of the parent? - why are parents not included in the decisions about our children's futures and the amount of time they are made to stay in state education? - This book gives the reader the answers to the questions that they feel are not answered or even articulated in the education system.
I listened to the book on Audible and then also bought it because there is much in the book that calls for more opportunities to research and expand on knowledge and understanding.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Helena Mac
- 06-12-20
Essential reading for parents
Another amazing insight to the continuous process of dumbing down generations of children, full of facts and backed up with numerous examples. This is a great book for any parent considering homeschool or worried about their child's performance in an ever increasingly tortuous environment in school. School doesn't have to define a child. There's so much more. School unlocks potential of a minority of children.
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- M. Khader
- 27-08-16
debunks the great myth of compulsory schooling
I enjoyed it greatly it brings to light the false assumption that schooling is beneficial to our impressionable young kids.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 07-11-19
Insightful and thought provoking.
Really interesting, however I would have liked a better explanation of what someone who has been through school and college could do to improve themselves. Its like Gato showed you hole in your education but not the steps needed to fill it. Still it was a thought provoking listen and definitely recommend.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Travis
- 30-04-15
Incredible inspiring book...
Incredible inspiring book... I highly recommend for anyone who questions the competence and motives of our educational system...
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- Amazon Customer
- 25-09-16
Eye opener! A great insight.
Critical analysis from an academic successful teacher. The disparity between the public assumption for good are persistent with the system of deliberate disillusion.
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1 person found this helpful