"Dumbing Us Down": 25th Anniversary Edition - Uncovering the Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Education

Alex Szymanski: This is the best book I have read in the last 10 years. I strongly recommend this book to all teachers and homeschool parents.

United States on Oct 24, 2023

amanda: Excellent book on the state of public education in America. Written from a 30 year teacher veteran. Makes you think twice about sending your children to simply be trained what to think - not how to think. We now homeschool.

United States on Oct 23, 2023

Marie: One of the book's strengths is its brevity, which mirrors the concise and impactful nature of Gatto's ideas. It's a quick read, but its content will linger in your mind long after you've turned the last page.
While "Dumbing Us Down" may challenge your beliefs about education, it does so with the intention of sparking much-needed conversations about reforming our school systems. It's a must-read for educators, parents, and anyone interested in the future of education.

United States on Oct 15, 2023

RF: What a wonderful book. Understanding the problems with our Prussian- developed education system to ensure conformity rather than development of minds is beautifully presented. The author's experience infiltrates his desire for us to learn from history and enable families and communities to remove the boredom that has supported the lowest common denominator where enthusiasm has been removed from our ability to learn in schools.

United States on Oct 15, 2023

Becky Hessick Schulte: Reading this book concurrently with starting yet another school year as a high school teacher was very eye-opening. Just as I was reading the author's description of schools being like prisons, all our school hallways were being painted a dull, industrial, prison-like gray. More than once I heard students say, Now this place really is like a prison!" And Gatto's words came to life. It is a very accurate description of life inside school walls, where even the teachers are regimented down to the minute and not allowed many personal freedoms.

United States on Sep 17, 2023

Mirela: This book is a testimony of a prized teacher about the fake education that school is giving to children. Schools are nothing but prisons with reeducation programs that destroy the children and transform them into obedient slaves.

Germany on Jul 24, 2023

Matthew: The book is basically just a retelling of various speeches that the author did but to be fair there are still a lot of good ideas contained within and exposes a lot of the rot within the education system. I'm in Canada and a lot of this book rings true for my education experience as well.

Canada on Jan 03, 2023

Lisa: every parent should read this book and if you send your child to school you should read it 10 times !!!

Canada on Dec 15, 2022

Richie1917: This book is so true! Perfect!

India on Sep 28, 2022

mvanderham: We homeschooled our kids for reasons that were not the focus of this book(all now in their 30s). But reading this blew me away! Gatto explains what I felt, but couldn’t put into words. I had no idea where our educational system actually came from or what it’s real goals are! “Weapons of Mass Instruction” is his other book you should read. Both super informative. One of the best books I’ve read. It is brilliant. If you have concerns about the education of your children, you must read this book; even totally apart from the current gender and CRT madness. This book and his other one explain what is the foundation of it all.

Canada on Dec 29, 2021