The Underground History of American Education

Gatto analyzes why mass compulsory schooling is unreformable. Having taught in a Manhattan school district for 30 years, Gatto speaks from experience when offering this speculative history cum personal investigation. Arguing that public school allow psychic violence, teach numbness, and force the deterioration of parental responsibilities, Gatto advocates that children spend less time in school and more with their family and in meaningful pursuits in their community.