{"product_id":"weapons-of-mass-instruction-a-schoolteachers-journey-through-the-dark-world-of-compulsory-schooling-9780865716698","title":"Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher's Journey Through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling","description":"\u003cp\u003eJohn Taylor Gatto's \u003cem\u003eWeapons of Mass Instruction\u003c\/em\u003e, now available in paperback, 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, \u003ci\u003eDumbing Us Down\u003c\/i\u003e, introduced the now-famous expression of the title into the common vernacular. \u003ci\u003eWeapons of Mass Instruction\u003c\/i\u003e adds another chilling metaphor to the brief against conventional schooling.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEscaping 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e New Society Publishers - New Society Publishe\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/01\/2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780865716698\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 215\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.80lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.70d","brand":"John Taylor Gatto","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36645416140956,"sku":"9780865716698","price":18.69,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_1b0aa4f7-03c6-4fdf-8814-c7765b293806.jpg?v=1603861066","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/weapons-of-mass-instruction-a-schoolteachers-journey-through-the-dark-world-of-compulsory-schooling-9780865716698","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}