---
product_id: 50788953
title: "Dumbing Us Down - 25th Anniversary Edition: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulso..."
price: "R423"
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reviews_count: 9
url: https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/50788953-dumbing-us-down-25th-anniversary-edition-the-hidden-curriculum-compulso
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region: South Africa
---

# Dumbing Us Down - 25th Anniversary Edition: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulso...

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Dumbing Us Down - 25th Anniversary Edition: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling [Gatto, John Taylor] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Dumbing Us Down - 25th Anniversary Edition: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

Review: You know truth when you read it. - Education is a business. This became evident to me in college when my professors were all writing textbooks for each other to demand as curriculum and kept writing new versions each year which were exactly the same. The honest professors refused to force us to buy the new version. My daughter graduated high school with no sense of what she enjoyed. She enrolled into college only with the sense she was supposed to go , with no clue what subjects she even wanted to explore. How can she spend a hundred thousand on an education she doesn't even know if she wants. I know very few with a degree in the field they desire. School was ingrained as a must do. She dropped out after two semesters and I'm so proud of her for finally finding her own way. My other four I am homeschooling, all of them have more a sense of these things than they did a few months ago when I pulled them out. They have not vomited, had meltdowns, or migraines since I pulled them out of that place after being urged to not send them there daily. I was so stressed until I read this. I had brought them home only to try to match public school curriculum here- still stressing them. I tucked it away and let them pick. They are making holograms, playing ukulele, taking engineering and youtuber courses and reading history from college level textbooks which provide the narrative and intertwine the stories so they understand what happened and why these events are significant. They are no longer being forced to memorize random arbitrary dates. They aren't being graded or measured or answering with what color they are on (behavior chart) at school when I asked how their day was. We are not simply de schooling, we are rinsing our brains from the brainwashing . I wrote down two goals for my children to start which are self discovery and to self educate of which neither does public school teach. We just want to get the ick off us!!! Critical thinking is a list art. Solitude is a must.
Review: Phenomenal! - This book was PHENOMENAL! As a homemaker who has always homeschooled our children—this book was another reminder that we chose the correct path from the beginning! Our children are light years ahead of their peers + we spend a fraction of the time on “schooling.” They love being outside in nature, are obsessed w/ reading, figuring out how things work, want to research about bugs, animals plants etc., ask questions constantly, are super curious, kind etc. As a product of the public school system, I have had to drop, while still working on it, a few of these concepts that were intentionally embedded in my head. I need to get out of their way—give them more opportunities to figure it out! Ask them more questions about what they are interested in—would like to learn. This book speaks heavily on the loss of community + the “jailing” of the old + the young. A reminder that the young need the old + vice versa! A true community is the only way we can thrive! If your children are still a part of the system—this book should make you angry enough to remove them! If you’re already homeschooling—this books should encourage you to create a stronger bond w/in your community + drop any institutional ideologies that we may still be carrying +/or projecting onto our children. This book is a quick read. Mark up those pages + go back for reference. May we all live + be Monongahela.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #13,536 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #3 in History of Education #6 in Philosophy & Social Aspects of Education #16 in Homeschooling (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars (2,078) |
| Dimensions  | 6 x 0.29 x 9 inches |
| Edition  | 25th Anniversary |
| ISBN-10  | 0865718547 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0865718548 |
| Item Weight  | 8.5 ounces |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 144 pages |
| Publication date  | May 19, 2017 |
| Publisher  | New Society Publishers |

## Images

![Dumbing Us Down - 25th Anniversary Edition: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulso... - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81NoBcRs6rL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ You know truth when you read it.
*by F***M on March 16, 2019*

Education is a business. This became evident to me in college when my professors were all writing textbooks for each other to demand as curriculum and kept writing new versions each year which were exactly the same. The honest professors refused to force us to buy the new version. My daughter graduated high school with no sense of what she enjoyed. She enrolled into college only with the sense she was supposed to go , with no clue what subjects she even wanted to explore. How can she spend a hundred thousand on an education she doesn't even know if she wants. I know very few with a degree in the field they desire. School was ingrained as a must do. She dropped out after two semesters and I'm so proud of her for finally finding her own way. My other four I am homeschooling, all of them have more a sense of these things than they did a few months ago when I pulled them out. They have not vomited, had meltdowns, or migraines since I pulled them out of that place after being urged to not send them there daily. I was so stressed until I read this. I had brought them home only to try to match public school curriculum here- still stressing them. I tucked it away and let them pick. They are making holograms, playing ukulele, taking engineering and youtuber courses and reading history from college level textbooks which provide the narrative and intertwine the stories so they understand what happened and why these events are significant. They are no longer being forced to memorize random arbitrary dates. They aren't being graded or measured or answering with what color they are on (behavior chart) at school when I asked how their day was. We are not simply de schooling, we are rinsing our brains from the brainwashing . I wrote down two goals for my children to start which are self discovery and to self educate of which neither does public school teach. We just want to get the ick off us!!! Critical thinking is a list art. Solitude is a must.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Phenomenal!
*by B***T on January 5, 2021*

This book was PHENOMENAL! As a homemaker who has always homeschooled our children—this book was another reminder that we chose the correct path from the beginning! Our children are light years ahead of their peers + we spend a fraction of the time on “schooling.” They love being outside in nature, are obsessed w/ reading, figuring out how things work, want to research about bugs, animals plants etc., ask questions constantly, are super curious, kind etc. As a product of the public school system, I have had to drop, while still working on it, a few of these concepts that were intentionally embedded in my head. I need to get out of their way—give them more opportunities to figure it out! Ask them more questions about what they are interested in—would like to learn. This book speaks heavily on the loss of community + the “jailing” of the old + the young. A reminder that the young need the old + vice versa! A true community is the only way we can thrive! If your children are still a part of the system—this book should make you angry enough to remove them! If you’re already homeschooling—this books should encourage you to create a stronger bond w/in your community + drop any institutional ideologies that we may still be carrying +/or projecting onto our children. This book is a quick read. Mark up those pages + go back for reference. May we all live + be Monongahela.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great book!
*by A***L on August 26, 2025*

Highly recommend this book for parents on the fence of homeschooling.

## Frequently Bought Together

- Dumbing Us Down - 25th Anniversary Edition: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling
- Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher's Journey Through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling
- The Underground History of American Education, Volume I: An Intimate Investigation Into the Prison of Modern Schooling

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*Product available on Desertcart South Africa*
*Store origin: ZA*
*Last updated: 2026-02-15*