Weapons of Mass Instruction

by John Taylor Gatto

New Society Publishers · 2008

In Weapons of Mass Instruction, Gatto digs deeper into the history and purpose of compulsory schooling in America, arguing that the system was deliberately designed to produce a manageable, obedient workforce. He profiles the Prussian origins of American public education and the industrialists who funded its spread, and contrasts this with examples of self-educated people who achieved extraordinary things.