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{{Short description|American author and school teacher (1935–2018)}} |
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{{Other people|John Taylor}} |
{{Other people|John Taylor}} |
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{{External links|date=July 2021}} |
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{{Infobox person |
{{Infobox person |
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| name = John Taylor Gatto |
| name = John Taylor Gatto |
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| image |
| image = John Taylor Gatto.jpg |
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| caption = Gatto in |
| caption = Gatto in 2009 |
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| birth_name |
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| birth_date = {{Birth |
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1935|12|15}} |
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| birth_place = [[Monongahela, Pennsylvania]], |
| birth_place = [[Monongahela, Pennsylvania]], US<ref>{{Cite web |title=John Taylor Gatto |url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4682967/bio |access-date=2022-05-25 |website=IMDb}}</ref> |
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| death_date = |
| death_date = {{death date and age|2018|10|25 |1935|12|15}} |
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| death_place = |
| death_place = [[New York City]], US |
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| resting_place = |
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| resting_place = |
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| nationality = American |
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| other_names = John Gatto |
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| residence = Oxford, New York |
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| known_for ={{flatlist| |
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| nationality = American |
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* Educational activist |
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| other_names = John Gatto |
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* Scholar |
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| known_for = Educational activist, scholar, New York State Teacher of the Year |
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* New York State Teacher of the Year |
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| education = [[Cornell University|Cornell]], the [[University of Pittsburgh]], [[Yeshiva]], [[Hunter College]], [[Reed College]] and the [[University of California]] |
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}} |
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| employer = |
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| education = [[Cornell University]]{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}<br/>[[University of Pittsburgh]]{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}<br/>[[Yeshiva University]]{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}<br/>[[Hunter College]]{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}<br/>[[Reed College]]{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}<br/>[[University of California, Berkeley]]{{citation needed|date=March 2022}} |
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| occupation = author |
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| employer = |
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| occupation = {{flatlist| |
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* Author |
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* Speaker |
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| religion = |
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* Teacher |
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| spouse = Janet Gatto |
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}} |
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| spouse = Janet Gatto<ref name="EdWeek"/> |
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| children = |
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| website = {{URL|http://www.johntaylorgatto.com}} |
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| parents = |
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| website = {{URL|http://www.johntaylorgatto.com}} |
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'''John Taylor Gatto''' |
'''John Taylor Gatto''' (December 15, 1935<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stephenmorse.com/birthday/birthday2.html |title=Birthdatabase (.com) |publisher=Stephenmorse.com |access-date=March 10, 2014 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303195851/http://www.stephenmorse.com/birthday/birthday2.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> – October 25, 2018<ref name="Gatto">{{cite news |last1=Kelley |first1=Vincent |date=October 25, 2019 |title=John Taylor Gatto Challenged the Ideas Inherent in US Mass Schooling |work=[[Truthout]] |url=https://truthout.org/articles/john-taylor-gatto-challenged-the-ideas-inherent-in-us-mass-schooling/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413150939/https://truthout.org/articles/john-taylor-gatto-challenged-the-ideas-inherent-in-us-mass-schooling/ |archive-date=April 13, 2022}}</ref>) was an American author and school teacher. After teaching for nearly 30 years he authored several books on modern [[education]], criticizing its ideology, history, and consequences. He is best known for his books ''[[Dumbing Us Down|Dumbing Us Down: the Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling]]'', and ''[[The Underground History of American Education|The Underground History of American Education: A Schoolteacher’s Intimate Investigation Into the Problem of Modern Schooling]]'' which criticize the modern education system and promote the concept of [[unschooling]] and a return to [[homeschooling]]. |
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He was named New York City Teacher of the Year in 1989, 1990, and 1991, and New York State Teacher of the Year in 1991.<ref name="nysed2007">[http://www.regents.nysed.gov/meetings/2004Meetings/February2004/0204heppd2.htm New York's Teachers of the Year], New York State Education Department (accessed April 5, 2014).</ref> |
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==Biography== |
==Biography== |
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Gatto was born |
Gatto was born to Andrew Michael Mario and Frances Virginia ({{nee}} Zimmer) Gatto in [[Monongahela, Pennsylvania]], a steel town near [[Pittsburgh]]. In his youth he attended public schools throughout the [[Pittsburgh Metro Area]] including [[Swissvale, Pennsylvania|Swissvale]], Monongahela, and [[Uniontown, Pennsylvania|Uniontown]] as well as a Catholic boarding school in [[Latrobe, Pennsylvania|Latrobe]]. He did undergraduate work at [[Cornell University|Cornell]], the [[University of Pittsburgh]], and [[Columbia University|Columbia]], then served in the [[U.S. Army]] medical corps at [[Fort Knox]], [[Kentucky]], and [[Fort Sam Houston]], [[Texas]]. Following army service he did graduate work at the [[City University of New York]], [[Hunter College]], [[Yeshiva University]], the [[University of California, Berkeley]], and Cornell.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}} |
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By the late 1950s he worked as a copywriter scripting commercials in New York City. In the spring of 1960, he borrowed his roommate's teaching license, went into Harlem to work as a substitute teacher. Gatto earned his teaching certificate in the summer of 1960. In 1963, he was hired as a fulltime 8th grade English teacher at Intermediate School 44 on New York City's Upper West Side. Gatto moved on to Lincoln Academy (now Horizons Middle School) in 1981, which was considered a dumping ground for kids with behavior problems. Eventually Gatto found a position teaching predominantly poor, at-risk kids 8th grade students at Booker T. Washington Junior High in Spanish Harlem.<ref name="EdWeek">{{cite news |last=Ruenzel |first=David |date=March 1, 2001 |title=The World According To Gatto |work=[[Education Week]] |url=https://www.edweek.org/education/the-world-according-to-gatto/2001/03 |access-date=August 8, 2022}}</ref> |
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He worked as a writer and held several odd jobs before borrowing his roommate's license to investigate teaching. Gatto also ran for the [[New York]] [[New York State Senate|State Senate]], 29th District in 1985 and 1988 as a member of the [[Conservative Party of New York]] against incumbent [[David Paterson]].<ref>"[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE6DC1639F933A25752C1A96E948260 THE ELECTIONS; New York State Senate]". ''[[New York Times]]''. November 10, 1988.</ref> He was named New York City Teacher of the Year in 1989, 1990, and 1991, and New York State Teacher of the Year in 1991.<ref name="nysed2007"/> In 1991, he wrote a letter announcing his retirement, titled ''I Quit, I Think'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/underground/prologue2.htm |title=I Quit, I Think |publisher=Johntaylorgatto.com |date= |accessdate=2014-03-10}}</ref> to the op-ed pages of the ''[[Wall Street Journal]],'' saying that he no longer wished to "hurt kids to make a living." He then began a public speaking and writing career, and has received several awards from [[Libertarianism|libertarian]] organizations, including the ''[[Alexis de Tocqueville]] Award for Excellence in Advancement of Educational Freedom'' in 1997.<ref>"[http://www.schoolandstate.org/Bios/HistoryTocqueville.htm]". ''[[Alexis de Tocqueville Award]]''. April 5, 2014.</ref> |
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Gatto also ran for the [[New York State Senate]], 29th District in 1985 and 1988 as a member of the [[Conservative Party of New York]] against incumbent [[David Paterson]].<ref>"[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE6DC1639F933A25752C1A96E948260 The Elections – New York State Senate] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301214239/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE6DC1639F933A25752C1A96E948260 |date=2009-03-01 }}". ''[[New York Times]]''. November 10, 1988.</ref> He was named New York City Teacher of the Year in 1989, 1990, and 1991<ref name="Gatto" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Jerry |date=March 25, 1997 |title=John Taylor Gatto |url=http://www.wtp.org/archive/transcripts/john_taylor_gatto.html |access-date=2022-06-12 |website=We The People Radio}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Glavin |first=Chris |date=2014-02-06 |title=John Taylor Gatto |url=https://www.k12academics.com/educational-philosophy/john-taylor-gatto |access-date=2022-06-12 |website=K12 Academics |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=John Taylor Gatto, Frank Furedi and John Holt - Quotations and Abstracts – The Gold Scales |url=http://oaks.nvg.org/gatto.html |access-date=2022-06-12 |website=oaks.nvg.org}}</ref> and New York State Teacher of the Year in 1991.<ref name="nysed2007">[http://www.regents.nysed.gov/meetings/2004Meetings/February2004/0204heppd2.htm New York's Teachers of the Year], New York State Education Department (accessed April 5, 2014). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218000312/http://www.regents.nysed.gov/meetings/2004Meetings/February2004/0204heppd2.htm |date=February 18, 2015 }}</ref> In 1991, he wrote a letter announcing his retirement, titled ''I Quit, I Think'', to the op-ed pages of the ''[[Wall Street Journal]],'' saying that he no longer wished to "hurt kids to make a living."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gatto |first=John Taylor |date=1991-07-25 |title=I Quit, I Think |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |url=https://saintkosmas.org/gatto-i-quit-i-think |access-date=2022-05-25}}</ref> He then began a public speaking and writing career, and has received awards from [[Libertarianism|libertarian]] organizations, including the ''[[Alexis de Tocqueville]] 1997 Award for Excellence in Advancement of Educational Freedom''.<ref>"[http://www.schoolandstate.org/Bios/HistoryTocqueville.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924095120/http://www.schoolandstate.org/Bios/HistoryTocqueville.htm|date=2015-09-24}}". ''Alexis de Tocqueville Award''. April 5, 2014.</ref> |
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He promotes [[homeschooling]], and specifically [[unschooling]] and [[Open Source Learning|open source learning]]. Wade A. Carpenter, associate professor of education at Berry College, has called his books "scathing" and "one-sided and hyperbolic, [but] not inaccurate"<ref>{{cite journal|author=Wade A. Carpenter|url=http://www.pilambda.org/styles/pilambda/defiles/v85-3.pdf?phpMyAdmin=7ef832b5771aeb8f8ed4cd00c2e37023&phpMyAdmin=-zoWw3mdi0AafcwcegVd7BGSXS5 |title=For Those We Won't Reach: An Alternative|work=Educational Horizons|volume=85|issue= 3|year=2007|page=153n8}}</ref> and describes himself as in agreement with Gatto.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Wade A. Carpenter|title=Behind Every Silver Lining: The Other Side of No Child Left Behind|work=Educational Horizons |volume=85|issue=1|url=http://www.pilambda.org/styles/pilambda/defiles/v85-1.pdf?phpMyAdmin=7ef832b5771aeb8f8ed4cd00c2e37023&phpMyAdmin=-zoWw3mdi0AafcwcegVd7BGSXS5}}</ref> |
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Gatto promoted [[homeschooling]], and specifically [[unschooling]] and [[open-source curriculum|open source learning]]. |
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Gatto is currently working on a 3-part documentary about compulsory schooling, titled ''The Fourth Purpose''. He says he was inspired by [[Ken Burns]]'s ''[[The Civil War (documentary)|Civil War]]''.<ref>[http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/fourthpurpose/gatto.htm The Fourth Purpose Documentary Series], Fourth Purpose Films (accessed March 21, 2008).</ref> |
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Gatto was featured in the 2011 [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical Christian]] film ''[[IndoctriNation|IndoctriNation: Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity in America]]''.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Gunn |first1=Colin |title=IndoctriNation: Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity in America |url=https://www.amazon.com/IndoctriNation-Schools-Decline-Christianity-America/dp/B006074Q3O |publisher=Commissioned Films |access-date=2022-06-12 |last2=Fernandez |first2=Joaquin|date=18 October 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=IndoctriNation: Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity in… |url=https://chalcedon.edu/resources/articles/indoctrination-public-schools-and-the-decline-of-christianity-in-america |access-date=2022-06-12 |website=Chalcedon |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-01-28 |title=Indoctrination: Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity in America (2011) |url=https://josephsmithfoundation.org/indoctrination/ |access-date=2022-06-12 |website=Joseph Smith Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref> |
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In 2011 he had two major strokes and received hundreds of messages of support from friends and fans worldwide. He suffered financial hardship since his medical insurance did not cover all his medical bills for rehabilitation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://radiofreeschool.blogspot.com/2012/06/what-will-you-do-for-john-taylor-gatto.html |title=Natural Born Learners : What will you do for John Taylor Gatto? |publisher=Radiofreeschool.blogspot.com |date=2012-06-25 |accessdate=2014-03-10}}</ref> The stroke occurred after he completed the filming of "The Ultimate History Lesson: A Weekend with John Taylor Gatto"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQiW_l848t8 |title=The Ultimate History Lesson: A Weekend with John Taylor Gatto (Intro + Hour 1 of 5) |publisher=YouTube |date=2012-01-01 |accessdate=2014-03-10}}</ref> which was released in early 2012 by Tragedy and Hope Communications.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tragedyandhope.com/th-films/the-ultimate-history-lesson/ |title=The Ultimate History Lesson: A Weekend with John Taylor Gatto |publisher=Tragedyandhope.com |date= |accessdate=2014-03-10}}</ref> |
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In 2011, Gatto had two major strokes{{citation needed|date=March 2022}} which occurred after he completed the filming of ''The Ultimate History Lesson: A Weekend with John Taylor Gatto'' which was released in early 2012 by [[Tragedy and Hope Communications]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQiW_l848t8 |title=The Ultimate History Lesson: A Weekend with John Taylor Gatto (Intro + Hour 1 of 5) |publisher=YouTube |date=January 1, 2012 |access-date=March 10, 2014 |archive-date=March 9, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309110304/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQiW_l848t8 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tragedyandhope.com/th-films/the-ultimate-history-lesson/ |title=The Ultimate History Lesson: A Weekend with John Taylor Gatto |date=February 3, 2012 |publisher=Tragedyandhope.com |access-date=March 10, 2014 |archive-date=March 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304120446/https://www.tragedyandhope.com/th-films/the-ultimate-history-lesson/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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==Personal life== |
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Gatto was married to Janet (Gatto) with whom he spent half the year in [[New York City]] and the other half of the year at their farmhouse in upstate New York.<ref name="EdWeek"/> |
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==Main thesis== |
==Main thesis== |
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Gatto asserts the following regarding what school does to children in ''Dumbing Us Down'': |
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# It confuses the students. It presents an incoherent ensemble of information that the child needs to memorize to stay in school. Apart from the tests and trials |
# It confuses the students. It presents an incoherent ensemble of information that the child needs to memorize to stay in school. Apart from the tests and trials, this programming is similar to the television; it fills almost all the "free" time of children. One sees and hears something, only to forget it again. |
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# It teaches them to accept their [[socio-economic class|class]] affiliation. |
# It teaches them to accept their [[socio-economic class|class]] affiliation. |
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# It makes them indifferent. |
# It makes them indifferent. |
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# It makes them intellectually dependent. |
# It makes them intellectually dependent. |
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# It teaches them a kind of self-confidence that requires constant confirmation by experts (provisional self-esteem). |
# It teaches them a kind of self-confidence that requires constant confirmation by experts (provisional self-esteem). |
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# It makes it clear to them that they cannot hide, because they are always supervised.<ref>See John Taylor Gatto, Dumbing Us Down''. The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling'', Iceland Gabriola: New Society Publishers, 2005, p. 2–11</ref> |
# It makes it clear to them that they cannot hide, because they are always supervised.<ref name="Gatto"/><ref>See John Taylor Gatto, Dumbing Us Down''. The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling'', Iceland Gabriola: New Society Publishers, 2005, p. 2–11</ref> |
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Gatto's thesis contained neither sources nor evidence to support these claims. [[Wade A. Carpenter]], associate professor of education at [[Berry College]], has called his books "scathing", "angry" "one-sided and hyperbolic, [but] not inaccurate".<ref>{{cite journal |author=Wade A. Carpenter |year=2007 |title=For Those We Won't Reach: An Alternative |url=http://www.pilambda.org/styles/pilambda/defiles/v85-3.pdf?phpMyAdmin=7ef832b5771aeb8f8ed4cd00c2e37023&phpMyAdmin=-zoWw3mdi0AafcwcegVd7BGSXS5 |url-status=dead |journal=Educational Horizons |volume=85 |issue=3 |page=153n8 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722191020/http://www.pilambda.org/styles/pilambda/defiles/v85-3.pdf?phpMyAdmin=7ef832b5771aeb8f8ed4cd00c2e37023&phpMyAdmin=-zoWw3mdi0AafcwcegVd7BGSXS5 |archive-date=July 22, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Wade A. Carpenter |title=Behind Every Silver Lining: The Other Side of No Child Left Behind |url=http://www.pilambda.org/styles/pilambda/defiles/v85-1.pdf?phpMyAdmin=7ef832b5771aeb8f8ed4cd00c2e37023&phpMyAdmin=-zoWw3mdi0AafcwcegVd7BGSXS5 |url-status=dead |journal=Educational Horizons |volume=85 |issue=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110821051340/http://www.pilambda.org/styles/pilambda/defiles/v85-1.pdf?phpMyAdmin=7ef832b5771aeb8f8ed4cd00c2e37023&phpMyAdmin=-zoWw3mdi0AafcwcegVd7BGSXS5 |archive-date=August 21, 2011}}</ref> [[Ron Paul]] endorsed Gatto's work. <ref>{{cite web |date=October 30, 2018 |title=John Taylor Gatto, R.I.P. |url=https://www.ronpaulcurriculum.com/public/10314.cfm |access-date=October 18, 2022 |publisher=RonPaulCurriculum.com}}</ref> |
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He also draws a contrast between communities and “networks,” with the former being healthy, and schools being examples of the latter; in the United States, networks have become an unhealthy substitute for community.{{citation needed|date=January 2014}} |
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Gatto drew a contrast between communities and "networks", with the former being healthy, and schools being examples of the latter. He says networks have become an unhealthy substitute for community in the United States.<ref>John Taylor Gatto, "Why Schools Don't Educate", The Natural Child Project https://www.naturalchild.org/guest/john_gatto.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180901080404/https://www.naturalchild.org/guest/john_gatto.html |date=2018-09-01 }}</ref> |
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==Bibliography== |
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* ''[[Dumbing Us Down|Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling]]'' (1992). |
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He aimed to inspire education advocates and the inception of [[Praxis test]]s. This testing measured academic competence and knowledge of specific subjects required for teaching. Praxis tests are taken by potential educators as part of certification required by state and professional licensing entities.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ets.org/praxis/|title=Praxis|website=www.ets.org|language=en|access-date=May 24, 2018|archive-date=June 18, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618054925/http://www.ets.org/portal/site/ets/menuitem.1488512ecfd5b8849a77b13bc3921509/?vgnextoid=302433c7f00c5010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD&vgnextchannel=7196e3b5f64f4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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*''The Exhausted School'' (1993). |
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*''A Different Kind of Teacher: Solving the Crisis of American Schooling'' (2000). ISBN 1-893163-21-0 |
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In his essay ''Against School,'' Gatto purports to explain the apparent confusion and meaninglessness of public schooling system by exposing its alleged real purpose and function. Gatto references the six functions [[Alexander James Inglis|Alexander Inglis]] proposes in his 1918 book ''Principles of Secondary Education'', though Gatto does not quote Inglis directly, instead giving his own interpretation of Inglis's meaning.<ref>Gatto, John Taylor (2009), ''Weapons of Mass Instruction'', pp. xviii–xix</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Against School|url=http://www.wesjones.com/gatto1.htm|date=September 2003|website=wesjones|access-date=May 31, 2020|archive-date=May 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501235032/http://www.wesjones.com/gatto1.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Inglis |first=Alexander James |url=http://archive.org/details/principlesofseco00ingliala |title=Principles of secondary education |date=c. 1918 |location=Boston, New York [etc.] |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company |via=University of California Libraries}}</ref> |
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*''[[The Underground History of American Education]]'' (2001). ([http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/chapters/index.htm Complete Text online]) |
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*'Against School' (2003) ([http://www.wesjones.com/gatto1.htm Complete Text Online]) |
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==Selected bibliography== |
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*''Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher's Journey through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling'' (2008). ISBN 0-86571-631-5 |
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===Articles and essays=== |
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* [https://www.scribd.com/document/99657318/John-Taylor-Gatto-Against-School "Against School."] ''[[Harper’s Magazine]]'' (September 2003), pp. 33–38. "How public education cripples our kids, and why." |
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===Books=== |
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* [[iarchive:kenkeseysoneflew00gatt|''Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: A Critical Commentary''.]] New York: [[Monarch Press]] (1975). {{ISBN|978-0671009663}}. {{OCLC|5687233}}. |
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* ''[[Dumbing Us Down|Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling]]''. Philadelphia: [[New Society Publishers]] (1992). Foreword by Thomas Moore. {{ISBN|0865714487}}. {{OCLC|926842308}}. |
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* [[iarchive:exhaustedschoolf0000unse|''The Exhausted School: The First National Grassroots Speakout on the Right to School Choice: Carnegie Hall, New York City''.]] New York: [[Oxford Village Press]] (1993). Preface by [[Patrick Farenga]]. {{ISBN|978-0945700029}}. {{OCLC|1010741721}}. |
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* [[iarchive:differentkindoft00gatt|''A Different Kind of Teacher: Solving the Crisis of American Schooling''.]] Berkeley, Calif.: [[Berkeley Hills Books]] (2002). {{ISBN|978-1893163218}}. {{OCLC|1043481859}}. |
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* ''[[The Underground History of American Education]]''. New York: Oxford Village Press (2001). {{ISBN|978-0945700043}}. {{OCLC|45004688}}. |
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** Revised edition (2017) by [[Oxford Scholars Press]] (New York) features a foreword is by [[U.S. Congressman]] [[Ron Paul]], an introduction by [[David Ruenzel]], and an afterword by Richard Grove of Tragedy and Hope Media.<ref name="worldcat">[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/992978582 ''The Underground History of American Education: A Schoolteachers's Intimate Investigation Into the Problem of Modern Schooling''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728085644/https://www.worldcat.org/title/underground-history-of-american-education-an-intimate-investigation-into-the-prison-of-modern-schooling-volume-i/oclc/992978582 |date=2021-07-28 }} [[WorldCat]]. {{OCLC|992978582}}.</ref> |
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* [https://archive.org/download/WeaponsOfMassInstruction/JohnTaylorGatto-weaponsOfMassInstruction_ASchoolteachersJourneyThroughTheDarkWorldOfCompulsorySchooling-newSocietyPublishers2009.pdf ''Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher's Journey Through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling.''] [[Gabriola Island]], [[British Columbia|B.C.]] (Canada): [[New Society Publishers]] (2008). {{ISBN|978-0865716315}}. {{OCLC|1073186340}}. |
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* ''The Adventures of Snider, the CIA Spider''. [[Lost Tools Press]] (2017). Illustrated by [[Anne Yvonne Gilbert]]. {{ISBN|978-0989280037}}. |
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==Filmography== |
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===Documentaries=== |
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* ''[https://vimeo.com/102686111 Human Resources]'' (2010) |
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* ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAZzeNhvkcw IndoctriNation: Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity]'' (2011) |
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* ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEV5AFFcZ-s Thrive: What on Earth Will It Take?]'' (2011) |
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* ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQiW_l848t8&list=PL463AA90FD04EC7A2 The Ultimate History Lesson: A Weekend with John Taylor Gatto]'' (2012) |
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** [[iarchive:theultimatehistorylessonwithjohntaylorgatto|Sourced transcript.]] |
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** [https://tragedyandhope.com/th-films/the-ultimate-history-lesson/bibliography-and-references/ Bibliography and references.] |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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* ''[[Deschooling Society]]'' (book by Ivan Illich) |
* ''[[Deschooling Society]]'' (book by Ivan Illich) |
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* [[Hidden curriculum]] |
* [[Hidden curriculum]] |
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* ''[[How Children Fail]]'' (book by John Holt) |
* ''[[How Children Fail]]'' (book by [[John Holt (educator)|John Holt]]) |
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* [[Total institution]] |
* [[Total institution]] |
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'''Other critics of public education:''' |
'''Other critics of public education:''' |
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*[[Zachariah Montgomery]] |
* [[Zachariah Montgomery]] |
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*[[Richard Grant White]] |
* [[Richard Grant White]] |
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* [[Charlotte Thomson Iserbyt]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Reflist| |
{{Reflist|30em|refs=}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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{{wikiquote}} |
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* {{official website|http://www.johntaylorgatto.com}} |
* {{official website|http://www.johntaylorgatto.com}} |
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* [https://archive.org/download/TheUndergroundHistoryOfAmericanEducation_643/JohnTaylorGatto-theUndergroundHistoryOfAmericanEducation_ASchoolTeachersIntimateInvestigationIntoTheProblemOfModernSchooling2000.pdf The Underground History of American Education] at [[Internet Archive]] |
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* [http://www.kinzaacademy.com Kinza Academy], Homeschooling with the Classics. Gatto is on the Advisory Board. |
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* [https://archive.org/download/DumbingUsDown-TheHiddenAgendaOfCompulsoryEducation/JohnTaylorGatto-dumbingUsDown_TheHiddenCurriculumOfCompulsorySchooling2002.pdf Dumbing Us Down] at [[Internet Archive]] |
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* [http://www.homeschoolnewslink.com/homeschool/columnists/gatto.shtml Collection of essays] Gatto is a regular columnist for The Link Homeschool Newspaper |
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* [http://www.wtp.org/archive/transcripts/john_taylor_gatto.html Transcript of radio interview with Jerry Brown] |
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* [http://www.waaromonderwijs.nl Gatto's November 2007 visit to Netherlands: audio, video and articles] |
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* [http://layla.miltsov.org/reviews/#gatto Book reviews] by Layla AR |
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* [http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/chapters/index.htm The Underground History of American Education by John Taylor Gatto (complete download)] |
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* [http://www.awakenedamerican.com/thinkers/john-taylor-gatto-quotes Collection of John Taylor Gatto quotes and videos] |
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===Writings and lectures=== |
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* [http://www.wesjones.com/gatto1.htm "Against School"] – originally published in ''[[Harper's Magazine]]'', September 2003 |
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* [http://www.cantrip.org/gatto.html "The Six-Lesson Schoolteacher"] – originally published in ''[[Whole Earth Review]]'', Fall 1991 |
* [http://www.cantrip.org/gatto.html "The Six-Lesson Schoolteacher"] – originally published in ''[[Whole Earth Review]]'', Fall 1991 |
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* [http://the7lessonteacher.com/ The Seven Lesson School Teacher] |
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* [http://www.noogenesis.com/game_theory/Gatto/Gatto.html A set of quotes from Gatto and links to original essays] |
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* [http://www.school-survival.net/articles/school/history/Institutional_schooling_must_be_destroyed.php "Institutional Schooling Must Be Destroyed"] |
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* [http://www.school-survival.net/articles/school/history/The_tyranny_of_compulsory_schooling.php "The Tyranny Of Compulsory Schooling"] |
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* [http://www.diablovalleyschool.org/nightmare.shtml "The Public School Nightmare: Why fix a system designed to destroy individual thought?"], article published by Diablo Valley School |
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* [http://www.naturalchild.org/guest/john_gatto.html "Why Schools Don't Educate - Teacher of the Year acceptance speech"] |
* [http://www.naturalchild.org/guest/john_gatto.html "Why Schools Don't Educate - Teacher of the Year acceptance speech"] |
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* [http://www.educationrevolution.org/blog/i-quit-i-think/ I Quit, I Think letter] |
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* [http://www.4Brevard.com/choice/Public_Education.htm "A Short Angry History of American Forced Schooling"] |
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* [https://www.c-span.org/person/?87263/JohnTaylorGatto Appearances] on [[C-SPAN]] |
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* [http://layla.miltsov.org/reviews/#gatto Book reviews] by Layla AR |
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* [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4682967/?ref_=tt_ov_st John Taylor Gatto] at [[IMDb]] |
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* [http://www.ttfuture.org/files/2/pdf/gotto_interview.pdf Everything We Think About Schooling Is Wrong!] – Interview with Gatto (PDF file download) |
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* [https://worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n92081579/ Works by or about John Taylor Gatto] in libraries ([[WorldCat]] catalog) |
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* [http://www.noogenesis.com/game_theory/Gatto/Gatto.html A set of quotes from Gatto and links to original essays] |
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===Multimedia=== |
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*{{YouTube|YQiW_l848t8|The Ultimate History Lesson, 2012}}, released free |
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*{{YouTube|ev7Y-XbapLc|Bartleby Project 2010}} |
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*[http://www.nicolefilms.com/vidpg_4thpurpose.html 4th Purpose Promo] – Trailer for ''The Fourth Purpose'' |
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*[http://www.educationrevolution.org/johngatto.html John Gatto Keynote Talks] - Video: Five complete keynote talks by John Gatto (2004–2010) |
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*[http://www.altruists.org/downloads/by_subject/others/education/ Altruists.org] – download audio files of some of Gatto's talks |
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*[http://www.edflix.org/gatto.htm Video of Gatto interview, broken into topic sections] |
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* [http://www.radio4all.net/index.php?op=program-info&program_id=8005&nav=& Speech at a home schooling Conference by Radio for Peace] ([[MP3]]) |
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*[http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2010/08/24/157-we-dont-need-no-education-we-dont-need-no-thought-control-no-dark-sarcasm-in-the-classroom-teachers-leave-them-kids-alone/ The Lew Rockwell Show, Aug 25, 2010] |
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* [http://www.altruists.org/gatto Collection of Gatto Files], mainly MP3s |
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{{Homeschooling}} |
{{Homeschooling}} |
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{{Authority control |
{{Authority control}} |
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{{Persondata |
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| NAME =Gatto, John Taylor |
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| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = |
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| SHORT DESCRIPTION =Educationist |
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| DATE OF BIRTH =December 15, 1935 |
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| PLACE OF BIRTH =[[Monongahela, Pennsylvania]], United States |
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| DATE OF DEATH = |
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| PLACE OF DEATH = |
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}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gatto, John Taylor}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gatto, John Taylor}} |
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[[Category:1935 births]] |
[[Category:1935 births]] |
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[[Category:American education writers]] |
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[[Category:Schoolteachers from New York (state)]] |
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[[Category:American educational theorists]] |
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[[Category:American educational reformers]] |
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[[Category:Homeschooling advocates]] |
[[Category:Homeschooling advocates]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Advocates of unschooling and homeschooling]] |
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[[Category:Yeshiva University alumni]] |
[[Category:Yeshiva University alumni]] |
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[[Category:People from Monongahela, Pennsylvania]] |
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[[Category:Military personnel from Pennsylvania]] |
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[[Category:Conservative Party of New York State politicians]] |
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[[Category:American libertarians]] |
Revision as of 05:23, 19 June 2024
John Taylor Gatto | |
---|---|
![]() Gatto in 2009 | |
Born | |
Died | October 25, 2018 New York City, US | (aged 82)
Nationality | American |
Other names | John Gatto |
Education | Cornell University[citation needed] University of Pittsburgh[citation needed] Yeshiva University[citation needed] Hunter College[citation needed] Reed College[citation needed] University of California, Berkeley[citation needed] |
Occupations |
|
Known for |
|
Spouse | Janet Gatto[2] |
Website | www |
John Taylor Gatto (December 15, 1935[3] – October 25, 2018[4]) was an American author and school teacher. After teaching for nearly 30 years he authored several books on modern education, criticizing its ideology, history, and consequences. He is best known for his books Dumbing Us Down: the Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling, and The Underground History of American Education: A Schoolteacher’s Intimate Investigation Into the Problem of Modern Schooling which criticize the modern education system and promote the concept of unschooling and a return to homeschooling.
Biography
Gatto was born to Andrew Michael Mario and Frances Virginia (née Zimmer) Gatto in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, a steel town near Pittsburgh. In his youth he attended public schools throughout the Pittsburgh Metro Area including Swissvale, Monongahela, and Uniontown as well as a Catholic boarding school in Latrobe. He did undergraduate work at Cornell, the University of Pittsburgh, and Columbia, then served in the U.S. Army medical corps at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Following army service he did graduate work at the City University of New York, Hunter College, Yeshiva University, the University of California, Berkeley, and Cornell.[citation needed]
By the late 1950s he worked as a copywriter scripting commercials in New York City. In the spring of 1960, he borrowed his roommate's teaching license, went into Harlem to work as a substitute teacher. Gatto earned his teaching certificate in the summer of 1960. In 1963, he was hired as a fulltime 8th grade English teacher at Intermediate School 44 on New York City's Upper West Side. Gatto moved on to Lincoln Academy (now Horizons Middle School) in 1981, which was considered a dumping ground for kids with behavior problems. Eventually Gatto found a position teaching predominantly poor, at-risk kids 8th grade students at Booker T. Washington Junior High in Spanish Harlem.[2]
Gatto also ran for the New York State Senate, 29th District in 1985 and 1988 as a member of the Conservative Party of New York against incumbent David Paterson.[5] He was named New York City Teacher of the Year in 1989, 1990, and 1991[4][6][7][8] and New York State Teacher of the Year in 1991.[9] In 1991, he wrote a letter announcing his retirement, titled I Quit, I Think, to the op-ed pages of the Wall Street Journal, saying that he no longer wished to "hurt kids to make a living."[10] He then began a public speaking and writing career, and has received awards from libertarian organizations, including the Alexis de Tocqueville 1997 Award for Excellence in Advancement of Educational Freedom.[11]
Gatto promoted homeschooling, and specifically unschooling and open source learning.
Gatto was featured in the 2011 Evangelical Christian film IndoctriNation: Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity in America.[12][13][14]
In 2011, Gatto had two major strokes[citation needed] which occurred after he completed the filming of The Ultimate History Lesson: A Weekend with John Taylor Gatto which was released in early 2012 by Tragedy and Hope Communications.[15][16]
Personal life
Gatto was married to Janet (Gatto) with whom he spent half the year in New York City and the other half of the year at their farmhouse in upstate New York.[2]
Main thesis
Gatto asserts the following regarding what school does to children in Dumbing Us Down:
- It confuses the students. It presents an incoherent ensemble of information that the child needs to memorize to stay in school. Apart from the tests and trials, this programming is similar to the television; it fills almost all the "free" time of children. One sees and hears something, only to forget it again.
- It teaches them to accept their class affiliation.
- It makes them indifferent.
- It makes them emotionally dependent.
- It makes them intellectually dependent.
- It teaches them a kind of self-confidence that requires constant confirmation by experts (provisional self-esteem).
- It makes it clear to them that they cannot hide, because they are always supervised.[4][17]
Gatto's thesis contained neither sources nor evidence to support these claims. Wade A. Carpenter, associate professor of education at Berry College, has called his books "scathing", "angry" "one-sided and hyperbolic, [but] not inaccurate".[18][19] Ron Paul endorsed Gatto's work. [20]
Gatto drew a contrast between communities and "networks", with the former being healthy, and schools being examples of the latter. He says networks have become an unhealthy substitute for community in the United States.[21]
He aimed to inspire education advocates and the inception of Praxis tests. This testing measured academic competence and knowledge of specific subjects required for teaching. Praxis tests are taken by potential educators as part of certification required by state and professional licensing entities.[22]
In his essay Against School, Gatto purports to explain the apparent confusion and meaninglessness of public schooling system by exposing its alleged real purpose and function. Gatto references the six functions Alexander Inglis proposes in his 1918 book Principles of Secondary Education, though Gatto does not quote Inglis directly, instead giving his own interpretation of Inglis's meaning.[23][24][25]
Selected bibliography
Articles and essays
- "Against School." Harper’s Magazine (September 2003), pp. 33–38. "How public education cripples our kids, and why."
Books
- Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: A Critical Commentary. New York: Monarch Press (1975). ISBN 978-0671009663. OCLC 5687233.
- Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling. Philadelphia: New Society Publishers (1992). Foreword by Thomas Moore. ISBN 0865714487. OCLC 926842308.
- The Exhausted School: The First National Grassroots Speakout on the Right to School Choice: Carnegie Hall, New York City. New York: Oxford Village Press (1993). Preface by Patrick Farenga. ISBN 978-0945700029. OCLC 1010741721.
- A Different Kind of Teacher: Solving the Crisis of American Schooling. Berkeley, Calif.: Berkeley Hills Books (2002). ISBN 978-1893163218. OCLC 1043481859.
- The Underground History of American Education. New York: Oxford Village Press (2001). ISBN 978-0945700043. OCLC 45004688.
- Revised edition (2017) by Oxford Scholars Press (New York) features a foreword is by U.S. Congressman Ron Paul, an introduction by David Ruenzel, and an afterword by Richard Grove of Tragedy and Hope Media.[26]
- Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher's Journey Through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling. Gabriola Island, B.C. (Canada): New Society Publishers (2008). ISBN 978-0865716315. OCLC 1073186340.
- The Adventures of Snider, the CIA Spider. Lost Tools Press (2017). Illustrated by Anne Yvonne Gilbert. ISBN 978-0989280037.
Filmography
Documentaries
- Human Resources (2010)
- IndoctriNation: Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity (2011)
- Thrive: What on Earth Will It Take? (2011)
- The Ultimate History Lesson: A Weekend with John Taylor Gatto (2012)
See also
- Critical pedagogy
- Deschooling Society (book by Ivan Illich)
- Hidden curriculum
- How Children Fail (book by John Holt)
- Total institution
Other critics of public education:
References
- ^ "John Taylor Gatto". IMDb. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
- ^ a b c Ruenzel, David (March 1, 2001). "The World According To Gatto". Education Week. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
- ^ "Birthdatabase (.com)". Stephenmorse.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
- ^ a b c Kelley, Vincent (October 25, 2019). "John Taylor Gatto Challenged the Ideas Inherent in US Mass Schooling". Truthout. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
- ^ "The Elections – New York State Senate Archived 2009-03-01 at the Wayback Machine". New York Times. November 10, 1988.
- ^ Brown, Jerry (March 25, 1997). "John Taylor Gatto". We The People Radio. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
- ^ Glavin, Chris (2014-02-06). "John Taylor Gatto". K12 Academics. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
- ^ "John Taylor Gatto, Frank Furedi and John Holt - Quotations and Abstracts – The Gold Scales". oaks.nvg.org. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
- ^ New York's Teachers of the Year, New York State Education Department (accessed April 5, 2014). Archived February 18, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Gatto, John Taylor (1991-07-25). "I Quit, I Think". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
- ^ "[1] Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine". Alexis de Tocqueville Award. April 5, 2014.
- ^ Gunn, Colin; Fernandez, Joaquin (18 October 2011), IndoctriNation: Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity in America, Commissioned Films, retrieved 2022-06-12
- ^ "IndoctriNation: Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity in…". Chalcedon. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
- ^ "Indoctrination: Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity in America (2011)". Joseph Smith Foundation. 2012-01-28. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
- ^ "The Ultimate History Lesson: A Weekend with John Taylor Gatto (Intro + Hour 1 of 5)". YouTube. January 1, 2012. Archived from the original on March 9, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
- ^ "The Ultimate History Lesson: A Weekend with John Taylor Gatto". Tragedyandhope.com. February 3, 2012. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
- ^ See John Taylor Gatto, Dumbing Us Down. The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling, Iceland Gabriola: New Society Publishers, 2005, p. 2–11
- ^ Wade A. Carpenter (2007). "For Those We Won't Reach: An Alternative" (PDF). Educational Horizons. 85 (3): 153n8. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 22, 2011.
- ^ Wade A. Carpenter. "Behind Every Silver Lining: The Other Side of No Child Left Behind" (PDF). Educational Horizons. 85 (1). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 21, 2011.
- ^ "John Taylor Gatto, R.I.P." RonPaulCurriculum.com. October 30, 2018. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
- ^ John Taylor Gatto, "Why Schools Don't Educate", The Natural Child Project https://www.naturalchild.org/guest/john_gatto.html Archived 2018-09-01 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Praxis". www.ets.org. Archived from the original on June 18, 2009. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
- ^ Gatto, John Taylor (2009), Weapons of Mass Instruction, pp. xviii–xix
- ^ "Against School". wesjones. September 2003. Archived from the original on May 1, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ Inglis, Alexander James (c. 1918). Principles of secondary education. Boston, New York [etc.]: Houghton Mifflin Company – via University of California Libraries.
- ^ The Underground History of American Education: A Schoolteachers's Intimate Investigation Into the Problem of Modern Schooling. Archived 2021-07-28 at the Wayback Machine WorldCat. OCLC 992978582.
External links
- Official website
- The Underground History of American Education at Internet Archive
- Dumbing Us Down at Internet Archive
- "The Six-Lesson Schoolteacher" – originally published in Whole Earth Review, Fall 1991
- The Seven Lesson School Teacher
- "Why Schools Don't Educate - Teacher of the Year acceptance speech"
- I Quit, I Think letter
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- John Taylor Gatto at IMDb
- Works by or about John Taylor Gatto in libraries (WorldCat catalog)