Weapons Of Mass Instruction

What is education for—and who does it really serve?

This session explores the deeper ideas raised in John Taylor Gatto’s Weapons of Mass Instruction. Rather than debating schooling policy or pedagogy alone, we will examine the philosophical assumptions beneath modern education: authority, freedom, conformity, knowledge, autonomy, and the shaping of the self.

Gatto argues that schooling functions less as a means of enlightenment and more as a system of conditioning. In this discussion, we will ask:

• What is the difference between education and instruction?
• Can mass systems cultivate individuality, or do they necessarily produce conformity?
• Is obedience a virtue—or a liability—in the formation of a free mind?
• Who should decide what counts as knowledge?

Finally if the system is designed to "Dumb Us Down" then how do we counteract it? How do we fight back?