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from th eir chance at co m m u n ity ; in ­
T h e h a b its tau g h t in large-scale o rga­
equally essential to the developm ent of
te rru p t kids w ith bells a n d h o rn s all
th e tim e a n d they will lea rn th a t n o th ­
n izatio n s are deadly.
O n th e o th er hand, individuality,
we a re n ’t really individuals at all. C hil­
to re-engage children and families in
ing is im p o rta n t; for th em to plead for
family, a n d com m unity are, by defini­
d re n a n d fam ilies need som e relief from
a c tiv e ly c o n tr o llin g o u r c u ltu r e ,
th e n a tu ra l right to th e toilet a n d they
tion, expressions of singular organiza­
g overnm ent surveillance a n d in tim ida
tion, never of “one-right-way ” thinking
tion if original expressions belonging
econom y, a n d society.
A n E xcerpt: T h e h e art o f th e de­
will b ecom e liars a n d toadies; ridicule
th em a n d th ey will re tre a t from h u ­
on the g ra n d scale. Private tim e is abso­
to th em are to develop. W ithout these,
m an association; sh am e them a n d they
lutely essential if a private identity is
freedom has no m eaning.
will find a h u n d re d ways to get even.
going to develop, and private tim e is
Dumbing Us Down
New Society Publishers;!992
September 15 , 1999
<Focus
^ X sorv State schooling: assu m p
fense for the ch erish ed A m erican ide­
als of privacy, variety, a n d individual-
a code o f private values, w ithout which
tions and structures that stam p
out the self-knowledge, curios­
ity, concentration and solitude
essential to learning. Between
schooling a n d television, o u r
children have precious little
tim e to learn for them selves
about the com m unity they live
in, or the lives they m ight lead.
Instead, they are schooled to
m erely obey orders and be­
com e sm oothly functioning
cogs in the industrial m achine.
In his 26 years of teaching,
Jo h n T aylor G atto has found
that independent study, com ­
m unity service, large doses of
- solitude, and a thousand dif­
f e r e n t apprenticeships with
adults of all walks of life are
the keys to helping children break the
thrall of o u r conform ing society. For the
ity lies in the way we b rin g up
our young. C h ild ren learn what
sake of o u r children and o u r com m uni
they live. P u t kids in a class
ties, J o h n T aylor G atto urges all of us to
a n d they will live o u t th eir lives
get schools out of the way a n d find ways
in a n invisible cage, isolated
The Parent’s Guide to
Alternatives in Education
p rin c ip le s , a n d th e p r a c tic a l
Shambhala; 1997
B y R onald E. K oetzsch P h D
s tra te g ie s o f e a c h a lte rn a tiv e
T o d ay , m an y p a re n ts are se a rc h ­
a p p r o a c h to e d u c a tio n
■ • Profiles o f representative
ing for an a ltern ativ e to m ain stre am
public e d u ca tio n in th e U nited States.
U ntil now , th ere has b e en n o in-depth
gu id e p ro v id in g the in fo rm a tio n they
n e ed to d ecide am o n g th e som etim es
b ew ildering array o f options, in clu d ­
schools based on visits by the
a u th o r
• L ists o f sources of fu rth er
in fo rm a tio n w ith contact ad
dresses a n d p h o n e n u m b ers
ing h o m eschooling, c h a rte r schools,
• A n a n n o ta ted read in g list
M ontessori, W aldorf, a n d others.
A final sectio n p ro v id es
The Parent’s Guide to Alternatives m Edit
ch ap ters on how to choose a
cation begins with an overview of the
school or start your own school.
developm ent of public education in the
U n ite d S ta te s
a n d th e n e x ­
plains some im
portanttrendsin
e d u c a tio n a l
th e o r y to d a y .
1 h e book’s main
section contains
detailed presen
'ations of twenty-
The Parents' Guide
to Alternatives in Education
Ttw tti.i »« 4tpiS <»I<U I.. <tw I«« « W U .*«••«» >»
«littM it" «.».... in» WI.E
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...................... f „ l
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two leading alter
natives to public
education. Each
chapter in this
section covers:
• T h e h is
to ry , th e p h i­
lo s o p h y a n d
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