{"product_id":"book-bjhq","title":"Weapons of Mass Instruction","description":"\u003cp\u003eJohn Taylor Gatto’s \u003ci\u003eWeapons of Mass Instruction\u003c\/i\u003e focuses on mechanisms of traditional  education that 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\u003eGatto 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  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 that can they  achieve self-knowledge, judgment, and courage.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hypnotic Press","offers":[{"title":"Audiobook","offer_id":49385161785648,"sku":"BDbjhq","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2784\/9264\/files\/390569-bjhq-Square.jpg?v=1735125256","url":"https:\/\/downpour.com\/products\/book-bjhq","provider":"Downpour","version":"1.0","type":"link"}