This is a radical treatise on public education and has been a bestseller in print for 10 years! Thirty years in New York City’s public schools led John Gatto to the sad conclusion that compulsory schooling does little but teach young people to follow orders like cogs in an industrial machine. This edition describes the wide-spread impact of the book, Gatto’s “guerrilla teaching,” and includes Gatto’s updates to his theories on how the U.S. educational system cranks out students the way Detroit cranks out Buicks.

“Superb! Should be Required Reading”

“Why parents must gain control of education”

“refreshing honesty from a former public school teacher”