I never liked "school" I found it utterly boring. I left "school" at the tender age of 13 & I wanted to discover "real life" When my beautiful daughter was born she followed in my footsteps. We were very fortunate that we had the opportunities to travel & discover the world, different cultures & life. I have no regrets. #TeachersLeaveOurKidsAlone ❤️🇬🇧
What Gatto talks about is that people who are compliant have a "low threshold for boredom." My guess is that it was something else that made it intolerable. I bet if you questioned yourself you would discover there was something about school that "did not take" with you.
I always question everything including myself. I really disliked everything about "school" I never felt comfortable within the "system" This has applied to me all my life & continues with the "system" that we have to live under at present. The very last thing I am is obedient & compliant especially if I know in my soul & ❤ that I am right. One Love ❤🇬🇧
Part of knowing the truth is being conscious of our positioning and calibration within it. And that must be constantly evaluated. It's why one of the first questions I ask when confronted with a new problem or issue is "What did I do to get myself into this?" It's also why I look at the world around me and see elements in it that demand accommodation and shake my head. Are we really that far gone...that their answer for their particular vulnerability is for the rest of society to accommodate whatever malady they have either real or imagined?
24 years ago, I wanted to homeschool my then three children, spend a year traveling the world to give them a real education. The eldest was 9 and the youngest was 3. My former husband said I was crazy and would not agree to it. We had no debt, savings, and the girls were at the perfect age to do this.
Wow! So sorry! There are several books out now about families taking time out to show each other the world. Whether it is painful to read them, you might find vicarious joy in proving your early vision. Very courageous dream, when that would have been scary for lots of people
Thank you, Sharon! I followed several families on Facebook which were doing just what I wanted to do. A classmate of my oldest daughter, Did that with her family on a sailboat, for a year.
School education, if ever there was such a thing, has been corrupted into a system of relentless indoctrination. That pretty much sums this up. Or not?
As a non-American nomad I can assure you that you can remove the term "American" from almost every statement. It is a (near)universal condition. I'm not aware of a single country which has escaped it. The events of the past 3 years have indeed proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt. The product of this system is a sheeple, bleating to be led. And bled. While clamoring for more of the same. And worse.
Sorry I can't read all of this but I got to say the dumbing down of our society starts when a new born baby is only hours old. They start injecting a new born baby with heavy metals, NEUROTOXINS, to protect the new born baby from Hep B in America as this is MANDATED they say by our government. They could test the new born baby for Hep B if they were so concerned through a blood test. Then add the many more shots the new baby gets as they grow and the fluoride in the water and toothpaste. We are poisoning ourselves through many other ways. Then throw in the education and we got the complete dumbing down of society.
"Why" has been purposefully and systematically stripped out of all "schooling". The classroom is not friendly to those thst dare to ask why, instead of how.🤔😐😉
Absolutely love the animation that went with JTG’s wise words, as well as the quote from Toby’s post. I read a third of your post and will come back to read the rest when I am fresh. Right now I should be in bed.
But I wanted to tell you: my alien alter ego has a lyric in the title track of her first album. I sing: “Everyone needs education”. But what kind? I certainly did not mean the kind they’re doling out.
It’s funny but there are certain lines I reflect upon differently now. So much has changed for me in the last 3.5 years. Like you, I question how, what, where, when, and by who I was conditioned aka socially engineered aka brainwashed.
My wife discovered JTG many years ago and we read just about everything he wrote. It was one of the factors that caused us to homeschool our five children. JTG won Teacher of the Year for New York State, a huge honor, and used his acceptance speech to criticize the system. Dumbing Us Down is that speech. His Underground History of American Education is another great read. As you’ve rightly summarized, the system has been constructed by powerful interests that want docile workers, not free-thinking citizens. If you still can and live someplace where it is legal, consider homeschooling your kids. If you live someplace where that is not legal, consider moving. It’s that important, and well worth the sacrifice. Finally, as always, Unbecoming, you’re locked in on the right stuff.
Thank my parents, they were post-Depression/WW2 and had 5th and 8th-grade educations. I'm the eldest and was told to learn it. Math beyond general is my weakest area I transpose certain numbers. But I made quilts and built a coffee table on my own. Yet I understand Economics way better than my Double Math major husband. I spent a decade as a single divorced mom of 3. Before I remarried, I had to learn. The hardest thing was to break him of a new car every 4 years, just because he is a car nut. We are now debt-free, except for the normal things like food, utilities, and taxes. Not really hurting in food, I started prepping on January 20th, 2020. And rotate as we use it.
From what I read above, I get the impression that critical thinking is "taught out" of us rather than taught. I think we all have the capacity for it, and don't necessarily need to be taught it, but rather encouraged to explore it.
You are correct, the new method is to follow orders. Right or wrong. It is why homeschooling and traditional are so hard fought against. I learned things in HS that are no longer taught today. Vo-Tech HS allowed a wider range of skills to be taught. And it was divided by sex even back then, wood/metal and auto shops were male, and sewing/cooking was female. Always thought it unfair. My dad taught me car check basics, at least I knew the basics of checking and didn't need a low light to tell me my oil was low.
We do have the capacity, but you have to be exposed to it, what piques your interest is important. Grammar is a writing skill not taught. I've older books where the grammar is more precise.
There is a paradox to it, it is not all bad, but could there have been in this schooling an informed choice? It probably also explains why school choice is so often fought against. We can't have variation, why we might find a recipe that does not lend itself to the product they are trying to put out.
My granddaughter was 5 when school started, her parents had to make the decision of what school she'd attend. Shelby Co. TN is ruled by the Liberal, failing system of Memphis. They had boxed Memphis in from annexing other areas. The area they live in is incorporated to the small city of Millington, which is traditional vs. liberal. While a public school there is a Tuition of $500 per semester. Of course, they are always broke. So we shelled out the $500. So far I'm impressed with the progress she has made. And the overactive child is much calmer, and can now sit still. Many of the enlisted Military send their children to the school. The city is 17K with an inland record-keeping Navy Base. So a fairly even racial mix.
When Memphis gave up its school charter, they were after full control of All the suburban town schools. They sued and won the right to form their own districts and boards. Before that, there were 2 school boards, one for Memphis, and one for the rest of the county.
I think if I had gone to elementary school now, I would have been put on medications. I could not sit still either. I wanted to do things I was interested in, like going to the listening center and I believe listen to stories. It was more fun than doing the busywork of elementary school.
I think "not being able to sit still" is an indicator not of a disorder as many would have us believe, but rather as a feature of being human. We aren't meant to sit down and just absorb and regurgitate facts. It also sends a horrible message about learning. Learning can be addictive. There is nothing quite like learning something new. It is exciting, and it is liberating.
For boys it's natural. But sitting still is a skill that has to be taught too. Granddaughter became hyper as her parents were not in control. I kept her for the first 3 years of her life, as they worked or went to school. She sat and let me read to her. Feeding her high-sugar junk doesn't help. She now has schedules for food. Which was on her timetable before.
I love her dearly, but having lost most of my hearing it makes caring for her difficult.
I need to find the transcript or at least narration without the music. I couldn’t get past “adjustive!”
Edit: Great links and references, however, Unbekoming. I especially appreciate the link to Thriftbooks and not to that *other* seller. I look forward to reading more of Gatto in print!
Thank you for this! I am very grateful to have discovered JTG almost 30 years ago as I ventured into “homeschooling” / deschooling my 3 young boys. I had my teaching certificate and had taught only a few months before stepping out for mat leave, never to return. I didn’t like what I saw - most essentially, the disappearance of the natural joy of learning as the grades progressed. I ultimately had to transfer my kids into school (choosing an alternative school) at the ages of 10, 7 and 6, so I could work and then study, but never lost the perspective provided by JTG. I was reminded of him yesterday when I watched an interview with Dr. Robert Epstein that focused on “debunking” our culture’s theory of adolescence and referenced JTG: https://youtu.be/UKzfo1CQFEA?feature=shared
The universe seems to be pointing me to a “refresher” of JTG - I will happily oblige!
I was also very impressed by Gatto, when I learned about him.
Here are three courageous free thinkers I heard about recently, who deserve more spotlight. Feel free to add a few favorites of your own, who you think deserve more attention :-)
* Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
Focuses on the judicial protection of peoples and minorities. Former UN rapporteur, and so independent that a number of his reports were suppressed.
"[...] considered by many to be the first modern comedian since Will Rogers. However, it doesn't stop there. As someone of principle, Sahl risked his entire career and worked hand-in-hand with Jim Garrison to investigate the assassination of John F Kennedy and was in continuous contention with the CIA."
"[...] former journalist, book editor (Macmillan of Canada) and publisher (newpress). He has written novels, essays, short stories, a biography, a play and books on the history of postwar Germany. His best sellers Other Losses and Crimes and Mercies have revealed atrocities committed by the allies against German POWs and civilians after World War Two."
I shared this post in a True Living Fellowship I belong to, and 5 in the group subscribed from reading it. You are doing great work!
We are 650 founding members of truth seekers and health freedom advocates. It’s a great model for people to connect to other like-minded people. I joined right before they closed and now they have a waiting list.
It’s Dr. Andrew Kaufman’s creation. He’s a whistleblower who along with Dr. Thomas Cowan, challenged germ theory during Covid. He is phenomenal.
I met his original publisher, at a homeschool conference in Illinois, back in 2001. I bought the book based upon my conversation with him. He lived in NYC and pulled his children out of the school system because of what he learned. It was our first year of bucking the system and a pivotal moment in time.
I'm always impressed by your summaries. I don't know how you do it, and several times over each week! You have my respect and thanks.
Mr. Gatto's confessed method of "teaching school" via those 7 zombie-making tenets is truly chilling. If that doesn't provoke a parent to home school, nothing will. I would just caution families from thinking they're doing better by choosing "Christian" home schooling: having home schooled my 3 kids from cradle to completion, a great deal of christian curriculum is just the other side of the authoritarian coin. I can't emphasize enough: do your research.
Looking at Mr. Gatto's website which you linked to, I started a lecture he gave (which unfortunately is a poor audio recording) called "The Neglected Genius of Western Spirituality". I don't intend to besmirch his legendary body of work which he gifted to society, BUT... ;) ... his heroic portrayal of the Puritans is just wrong. He's certainly not alone, however; most patriotic Americans (ie Rush Limbaugh) praise them as well. But in truth they were Platonic, superstitious, soul-crushing, individual-loathing tyrants. Thank God for the American Revolution which stymied their spreading into a greater theocracy.
Okay, doing a more thorough reading, Mr. Gatto says beneath his 7th tenet entitled "One Can't Hide":
"The meaning of constant surveillance and denial of privacy is that no one can be trusted, that privacy is not legitimate. Surveillance is an ancient imperative, espoused by certain influential thinkers, a central prescription set down in The Republic [Plato], The City of God [Augustine], The Institutes of the Christian Religion [John Calvin], [...]."
There you have it in a nutshell (which further baffles me on his take of those puritans).
I never liked "school" I found it utterly boring. I left "school" at the tender age of 13 & I wanted to discover "real life" When my beautiful daughter was born she followed in my footsteps. We were very fortunate that we had the opportunities to travel & discover the world, different cultures & life. I have no regrets. #TeachersLeaveOurKidsAlone ❤️🇬🇧
What Gatto talks about is that people who are compliant have a "low threshold for boredom." My guess is that it was something else that made it intolerable. I bet if you questioned yourself you would discover there was something about school that "did not take" with you.
I always question everything including myself. I really disliked everything about "school" I never felt comfortable within the "system" This has applied to me all my life & continues with the "system" that we have to live under at present. The very last thing I am is obedient & compliant especially if I know in my soul & ❤ that I am right. One Love ❤🇬🇧
Part of knowing the truth is being conscious of our positioning and calibration within it. And that must be constantly evaluated. It's why one of the first questions I ask when confronted with a new problem or issue is "What did I do to get myself into this?" It's also why I look at the world around me and see elements in it that demand accommodation and shake my head. Are we really that far gone...that their answer for their particular vulnerability is for the rest of society to accommodate whatever malady they have either real or imagined?
24 years ago, I wanted to homeschool my then three children, spend a year traveling the world to give them a real education. The eldest was 9 and the youngest was 3. My former husband said I was crazy and would not agree to it. We had no debt, savings, and the girls were at the perfect age to do this.
Wow! So sorry! There are several books out now about families taking time out to show each other the world. Whether it is painful to read them, you might find vicarious joy in proving your early vision. Very courageous dream, when that would have been scary for lots of people
Thank you, Sharon! I followed several families on Facebook which were doing just what I wanted to do. A classmate of my oldest daughter, Did that with her family on a sailboat, for a year.
School education, if ever there was such a thing, has been corrupted into a system of relentless indoctrination. That pretty much sums this up. Or not?
As a non-American nomad I can assure you that you can remove the term "American" from almost every statement. It is a (near)universal condition. I'm not aware of a single country which has escaped it. The events of the past 3 years have indeed proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt. The product of this system is a sheeple, bleating to be led. And bled. While clamoring for more of the same. And worse.
Sorry I can't read all of this but I got to say the dumbing down of our society starts when a new born baby is only hours old. They start injecting a new born baby with heavy metals, NEUROTOXINS, to protect the new born baby from Hep B in America as this is MANDATED they say by our government. They could test the new born baby for Hep B if they were so concerned through a blood test. Then add the many more shots the new baby gets as they grow and the fluoride in the water and toothpaste. We are poisoning ourselves through many other ways. Then throw in the education and we got the complete dumbing down of society.
Agree.
With everything that I have learnt over the last 3 years, I think it all comes down to one question.
Will you poison your baby in the first 24 hours of his/her life?
That's it.
Nothing else matters if your answer is Yes.
"Why" has been purposefully and systematically stripped out of all "schooling". The classroom is not friendly to those thst dare to ask why, instead of how.🤔😐😉
Good one, so true
Absolutely love the animation that went with JTG’s wise words, as well as the quote from Toby’s post. I read a third of your post and will come back to read the rest when I am fresh. Right now I should be in bed.
But I wanted to tell you: my alien alter ego has a lyric in the title track of her first album. I sing: “Everyone needs education”. But what kind? I certainly did not mean the kind they’re doling out.
Here’s another song from that album; it’s about being brainwashed from as early as they can get you: https://micropixie.bandcamp.com/album/alice-in-stevie-wonderland
It’s funny but there are certain lines I reflect upon differently now. So much has changed for me in the last 3.5 years. Like you, I question how, what, where, when, and by who I was conditioned aka socially engineered aka brainwashed.
Thanks for another great post! 🙌🏾
Thank you!
Indeed, a friend told me just the other day she is planning for the next booster
I’m so afraid that the coming die-off will soon be visible in the streets and intersections and not only on email lists
My wife discovered JTG many years ago and we read just about everything he wrote. It was one of the factors that caused us to homeschool our five children. JTG won Teacher of the Year for New York State, a huge honor, and used his acceptance speech to criticize the system. Dumbing Us Down is that speech. His Underground History of American Education is another great read. As you’ve rightly summarized, the system has been constructed by powerful interests that want docile workers, not free-thinking citizens. If you still can and live someplace where it is legal, consider homeschooling your kids. If you live someplace where that is not legal, consider moving. It’s that important, and well worth the sacrifice. Finally, as always, Unbecoming, you’re locked in on the right stuff.
Thanks David! It's great to now connect with people who are across his work from years back.
Homeschooling of future grandkids is definitely now on the cards.
Critical thinking, I was taught to question, think for myself, think outside of the box, and solve problems on my own.
Dang! You and people like you make Edward Bernays weep in their grave.
Thank my parents, they were post-Depression/WW2 and had 5th and 8th-grade educations. I'm the eldest and was told to learn it. Math beyond general is my weakest area I transpose certain numbers. But I made quilts and built a coffee table on my own. Yet I understand Economics way better than my Double Math major husband. I spent a decade as a single divorced mom of 3. Before I remarried, I had to learn. The hardest thing was to break him of a new car every 4 years, just because he is a car nut. We are now debt-free, except for the normal things like food, utilities, and taxes. Not really hurting in food, I started prepping on January 20th, 2020. And rotate as we use it.
And good for you. You are a smart one. :)
From what I read above, I get the impression that critical thinking is "taught out" of us rather than taught. I think we all have the capacity for it, and don't necessarily need to be taught it, but rather encouraged to explore it.
You are correct, the new method is to follow orders. Right or wrong. It is why homeschooling and traditional are so hard fought against. I learned things in HS that are no longer taught today. Vo-Tech HS allowed a wider range of skills to be taught. And it was divided by sex even back then, wood/metal and auto shops were male, and sewing/cooking was female. Always thought it unfair. My dad taught me car check basics, at least I knew the basics of checking and didn't need a low light to tell me my oil was low.
We do have the capacity, but you have to be exposed to it, what piques your interest is important. Grammar is a writing skill not taught. I've older books where the grammar is more precise.
There is a paradox to it, it is not all bad, but could there have been in this schooling an informed choice? It probably also explains why school choice is so often fought against. We can't have variation, why we might find a recipe that does not lend itself to the product they are trying to put out.
My granddaughter was 5 when school started, her parents had to make the decision of what school she'd attend. Shelby Co. TN is ruled by the Liberal, failing system of Memphis. They had boxed Memphis in from annexing other areas. The area they live in is incorporated to the small city of Millington, which is traditional vs. liberal. While a public school there is a Tuition of $500 per semester. Of course, they are always broke. So we shelled out the $500. So far I'm impressed with the progress she has made. And the overactive child is much calmer, and can now sit still. Many of the enlisted Military send their children to the school. The city is 17K with an inland record-keeping Navy Base. So a fairly even racial mix.
When Memphis gave up its school charter, they were after full control of All the suburban town schools. They sued and won the right to form their own districts and boards. Before that, there were 2 school boards, one for Memphis, and one for the rest of the county.
I think if I had gone to elementary school now, I would have been put on medications. I could not sit still either. I wanted to do things I was interested in, like going to the listening center and I believe listen to stories. It was more fun than doing the busywork of elementary school.
I think "not being able to sit still" is an indicator not of a disorder as many would have us believe, but rather as a feature of being human. We aren't meant to sit down and just absorb and regurgitate facts. It also sends a horrible message about learning. Learning can be addictive. There is nothing quite like learning something new. It is exciting, and it is liberating.
For boys it's natural. But sitting still is a skill that has to be taught too. Granddaughter became hyper as her parents were not in control. I kept her for the first 3 years of her life, as they worked or went to school. She sat and let me read to her. Feeding her high-sugar junk doesn't help. She now has schedules for food. Which was on her timetable before.
I love her dearly, but having lost most of my hearing it makes caring for her difficult.
I need to find the transcript or at least narration without the music. I couldn’t get past “adjustive!”
Edit: Great links and references, however, Unbekoming. I especially appreciate the link to Thriftbooks and not to that *other* seller. I look forward to reading more of Gatto in print!
Thank you for this! I am very grateful to have discovered JTG almost 30 years ago as I ventured into “homeschooling” / deschooling my 3 young boys. I had my teaching certificate and had taught only a few months before stepping out for mat leave, never to return. I didn’t like what I saw - most essentially, the disappearance of the natural joy of learning as the grades progressed. I ultimately had to transfer my kids into school (choosing an alternative school) at the ages of 10, 7 and 6, so I could work and then study, but never lost the perspective provided by JTG. I was reminded of him yesterday when I watched an interview with Dr. Robert Epstein that focused on “debunking” our culture’s theory of adolescence and referenced JTG: https://youtu.be/UKzfo1CQFEA?feature=shared
The universe seems to be pointing me to a “refresher” of JTG - I will happily oblige!
Thank you, I'll check out Epstein's work.
I was also very impressed by Gatto, when I learned about him.
Here are three courageous free thinkers I heard about recently, who deserve more spotlight. Feel free to add a few favorites of your own, who you think deserve more attention :-)
* Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
Focuses on the judicial protection of peoples and minorities. Former UN rapporteur, and so independent that a number of his reports were suppressed.
https://www.alfreddezayas.com/
* Mort Sahl
"[...] considered by many to be the first modern comedian since Will Rogers. However, it doesn't stop there. As someone of principle, Sahl risked his entire career and worked hand-in-hand with Jim Garrison to investigate the assassination of John F Kennedy and was in continuous contention with the CIA."
https://rumble.com/vonnsd-mort-sahl-the-comic-vs-the-cia.html
* James Bacque
"[...] former journalist, book editor (Macmillan of Canada) and publisher (newpress). He has written novels, essays, short stories, a biography, a play and books on the history of postwar Germany. His best sellers Other Losses and Crimes and Mercies have revealed atrocities committed by the allies against German POWs and civilians after World War Two."
https://www.jamesbacque.com/about-james-bacque
That's great, thank you. Did not know any of them.
Bravo!
Unschooling. The best.
I shared this post in a True Living Fellowship I belong to, and 5 in the group subscribed from reading it. You are doing great work!
We are 650 founding members of truth seekers and health freedom advocates. It’s a great model for people to connect to other like-minded people. I joined right before they closed and now they have a waiting list.
It’s Dr. Andrew Kaufman’s creation. He’s a whistleblower who along with Dr. Thomas Cowan, challenged germ theory during Covid. He is phenomenal.
Thank you Myriam!
My pleasure! Your work in invaluable! Thank you for your service to humanity and God Bless you!
I met his original publisher, at a homeschool conference in Illinois, back in 2001. I bought the book based upon my conversation with him. He lived in NYC and pulled his children out of the school system because of what he learned. It was our first year of bucking the system and a pivotal moment in time.
I'm always impressed by your summaries. I don't know how you do it, and several times over each week! You have my respect and thanks.
Mr. Gatto's confessed method of "teaching school" via those 7 zombie-making tenets is truly chilling. If that doesn't provoke a parent to home school, nothing will. I would just caution families from thinking they're doing better by choosing "Christian" home schooling: having home schooled my 3 kids from cradle to completion, a great deal of christian curriculum is just the other side of the authoritarian coin. I can't emphasize enough: do your research.
Looking at Mr. Gatto's website which you linked to, I started a lecture he gave (which unfortunately is a poor audio recording) called "The Neglected Genius of Western Spirituality". I don't intend to besmirch his legendary body of work which he gifted to society, BUT... ;) ... his heroic portrayal of the Puritans is just wrong. He's certainly not alone, however; most patriotic Americans (ie Rush Limbaugh) praise them as well. But in truth they were Platonic, superstitious, soul-crushing, individual-loathing tyrants. Thank God for the American Revolution which stymied their spreading into a greater theocracy.
Okay, doing a more thorough reading, Mr. Gatto says beneath his 7th tenet entitled "One Can't Hide":
"The meaning of constant surveillance and denial of privacy is that no one can be trusted, that privacy is not legitimate. Surveillance is an ancient imperative, espoused by certain influential thinkers, a central prescription set down in The Republic [Plato], The City of God [Augustine], The Institutes of the Christian Religion [John Calvin], [...]."
There you have it in a nutshell (which further baffles me on his take of those puritans).
Thanks Pearl! Great comment.
Yes "chilling" is indeed an apt description of the 7 tenants.