I really enjoyed this audiobook. As a homeschool parent I find the history of education fascinating, and John Taylor Gatto provides some of the history that’s not often talked about. The narrator did a good job as well.

This book has been on my list to read for a few years. I was excited to receive a copy of the audiobook!

Gatto goes over how our school systems are broken, the education system as a whole. How not are children are excelling to their potential due to adults holding them back. He talks about how children are streamlined into "independent" workers who are groomed into being a part of a society that expects them to follow suit and commands. Gatto states, "How to be a good Egyptian and remain in your place in the pyramid".

As someone who homeschools for a lot of reasons Gatto discusses, this book really makes me think about how the education system has not changed since it was created. It was created to make people unable to think for themselves.

If you are considering homeschooling or what to read more about the education system, I encourage reading this book.

Thank you for the free audiobook!

Great to see this book getting highlighted again for it's 25th anniversary.
The book takes an inside look at the education system and why it's current form benefits industry rather than the child working their way through it.

We moved into home school, like many, as a result of covid, but have never looked back. Whilst the continuation on this journey came from different reasons than those mentioned in the book, this book strengthens the knowledge that we chose the right path.

I listened to the audiobook. I highly recommend this book if you are considering whether traditional school is the right path for your child. An interesting and thought provoking listen.

I first heard about John Taylor Gatto a few years ago, as his writing was suggested to me when I was first exploring the idea of homeschooling. If you have never heard of Gatto before, he was a public school teacher in New York City for over 30 years and also won the New York State Teacher of the Year award in 1991 - an impressive resume. Upon listening to the 25th Anniversary Edition of Dumbing Us Down I found myself enthralled with the discussion set forth. Since starting my family's homeschooling journey, while subsequently witnessing the public school journey of friends and family, Gatto's ideas frequently come to mind (along with the movie Idiocracy). Dumbing Us Down brings light to the destruction our school system enacts on the minds and hearts of our children.

There are different themes tied into Dumbing Us Down, which include talks and speeches delivered by Gatto over the years. Part of this book is a telling of Gatto's coming of age along the Monongahela River in Pennsylvania and journey towards becoming a school teacher, first hand experiences with students as both a substitute teacher and teacher in New York, and history lessons related to our modern day school system. Most importantly, in my opinion, is the point that schooling was used as a way to break children away from their parents. From John Cotton in 1650 to Horace Mann in 1850, there have been efforts to entrust our children to the "professionals" who know better. Parents have been left to feel inadequate. Gatto's work aims to restore that trust in parents and families, showing an alternative to our failing school systems where we continue to see decreases in reading and math abilities every year.

My favorite point from Dumbing Us Down is the encouragement and importance of self-knowledge and subsequent self-teaching. Gatto points out how most childrens' hours are spent either in school or in front of the television (in 2024 I would also include all forms of technology like phones and tablets too). There is little room for self-knowledge and problem solving, as independent time has become non-existent. Without self-teaching we have adults that are aimless and need complete instruction. It always blows my mind to think that just over a century ago a 16 year old would have the current equivalent of a college education. Gatto really empowers readers to go outside of the current norms in pursuing knowledge while also emphasizing the important need for family and community investment.

I would recommend Dumbing Us Down to everyone - not just those looking for an alternative to traditional schooling. I think the ideas presented allow for critical thinking and questioning of our education system- skills that are essential in life. My hope would be that teachers and students alike could open their minds to asking, "is this really what's best?" I hope that the 25th anniversary of Dumbing Us Down can bring this book the attention that it deserves as we examine the future of our education system in the United States.

Thank you to NetGalley, Post Hypnotic Press Audiobooks, Post Hypnotic Press Inc., the author John Taylor Gatto (RIP), and the narrators Michael Puttonen and Adam Farnsworth for an ALC of Dumbing Us Down - an absolutely essential book!

This book is absolutely eye opening!! I recommend anyone that has kids school age read this. Also have your spouse read/listen to it as well. It shows just how our education system is broken and streamlined to produce independent little workers who don't think being away from family for 7-8 hours a day. I wish everyone had the means and willpower to homeschool their kids.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Author for this ARC.