Ladies and Gentleman, welcome back to another edition of 'In between The Stories'. We're gonna get into something I've been thinking about lately, party due to my re-reading of a book by John Taylor Gatto, Dumbing Us Down. If you haven't read it, I highly encourage you to give that book a decent read. It isn't very long, but really packs a punch. A school teacher in New York City for 30 years, Mr. Gatto became outspoken and critical of modern education, it's ideologies, history and methods. His colleagues, and staff at times didn't appreciate his way of doing things. But, his students loved him.

Today I wanted to share some thoughts on public schooling and homeschooling. Kids are the future. Was it Aristotle who said "give me a child for 7 years, and I'll show you the man?" Those early years are critical for a child's development - mentally, physically, emotionally. As for myself, I attended public school throughout my adolescents. I've gauged some of the conversations on and offline from parents who have children in public school, and some of the concerns seem to involve the safety, and lack of support for their child's needs. Over the years there's been an uptick with parents pulling their kids out of public school. Have you noticed that in your area?

And on the flip side, you have parents and children who had a negative experience with homeschooling. Suggesting more resources toward public education - adequate teacher training, sufficient funding. When these 2 needs are met, progress can be made. Taking those things into consideration along with a few points Mr. Gatto's book highlights, fueled this episode. I hope you can join the conversation and share your thoughts, if any of it resonates with you.

Drawing from Chapter 1 of Dumbing Us Down, these are the 7 lessons discussed :

1. Confusion
2. Class affiliation acceptance
3. Indifference
4. Emotional dependency
5. Intellectual dependency
6. Provisional self-esteem
7. Surveillance

If you're a teacher in public schooling or a parent/student who has homeschool experience and you'd like to share some of your experience on the show. I'd be happy to connect.

'Til next time

and very soon,

PEACE!!

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Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto :

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/225850.Dumbing_Us_Down

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Listen to Chris's story :

https://rss.com/podcasts/giants-amongst-us/956757/

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