Title Tuesday: Dumbing Us Down

Welcome to  Title Tuesday, my favorite day of the week! This day is dedicated to book suggestions, news, cartoons, and reviews. For 2020 I decided to structure my book reviews by breaking each month into topics. You can find my topics list here, but couple of weeks ago I decided to change my original book review plan. Instead of covering parenting boys in April and parenting girls in July, we are pivoting and covering homeschool books instead you can read why here.

So, this month we are covering homeschooling. Lets jump in!

As a former teacher, when I started to consider homeschooling, I really struggled with what to actually do at home.

In my mind I had the idea that to homeschool I needed to replicate public school, at home. However, when I read Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto, all of that changed.

Gatto's book opened my eyes to the idea of less school for more learning.

When I think back on my own education it wasn't the school that made a difference, but rather certain teachers that cared enough to invest in me deeply (I am looking at you Mac and Mrs. Reid!)

In fact, I learned some of my greatest lessons from people that (at the time) were not even teachers! (Thanks Mrs. Myres and Mrs. Hand for teaching me real life lessons!)

Now I do want to be clear here, I am not one for conspiracy theories. I don't think that there is some master puppeteer trying to make our kids in to zombies or sluggards.

But, I do believe that institutionalized schooling has become too big and too machine like to be effective.

I also believe that too many children fall through the gaps on both ends of the special needs spectrum.

On page 69 Gatto compels us to "Break up these institutional schools, decertify teaching, let anyone who has a mind to teach bid for customers, privatize this whole business-trust the free market system."

I have to say that it makes a lot of sense.

The public school system is broken, period. No one can argue that. It breaks my heart to see teachers (that truly love their students) quit teaching because of the ridiculous requirements and under-funding that is thrown at them.

I think the portion of Gatto's writing on page 55 is a crucial aspect of why our society is struggling so much. He writes:

By isolating young and old from working life of places and by isolating the working population from the lives of young and old, institutions and networks have brought about a fundamental disconnection of the generations. The griefs that arise from this have no synthetic remedy; no vibrant. satisfying communities can come into being where young and old are locked away.

Teachers are also dealing with children that are growing up in an isolated bubble of people their own age, rather than experiencing all of the stages of life. If students don't get to see what else life has to offer why would the care about learning more and doing better?  

Overall, Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto, is an argument for why privatized schooling and homeschooling are so crucial. If you are on the fence about your children remaining in public school this book is for you.