The Exhausted School: The First National Grassroots Speakout on the Right to School Choice [Paperback]

John Taylor Gatto (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This volume comprises speeches by Gatto, a New York state teacher of the year, and seven other speakers who are founders of successful, established programs. The speeches, which deal with the right to school choice and challenge the present school system, were presented at Carnegie Hall in 1991. The contributors propose several ideal school programs that may operate on less than one third of the budgets of contemporary public schools. They also demand free market choices in education, a topic that drew considerable attention during the recent U.S. presidential campaign. Undoubtedly, this book will inspire many educators and readers who are interested in the right to school choice. It will also invite both criticism and support. Recommended for academic libraries.
- Samuel T. Huang, Northern Illinois Univ. Libs., DeKalb
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Smith & Varina Pub (January 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0945700024
• ISBN-13: 978-0945700029
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,975,331 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Renegade Thought, June 8, 2001

By 

Erica "Erica" (Washington State) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Exhausted School: The First National Grassroots Speakout on the Right to School Choice (Paperback)

In 1991 New York Teacher of the Year John Taylor Gatto and a former student of his rented Carnegie Hall for the night, invited many different representatives from the unschooling and alternative education world to speak, and turned them loose on an audience of about a thousand people. This book is the collected speaches from that October night.

From the distance of ten years, the maverick nature of this event is fading somewhat. Any alternative--or at least the distrust of public schools--is now part of mainstream debate in America. "The Exhausted School" is worth reading nonetheless for the fire in the belly passion these men and women felt in offering a better way. And it's important to remember that Gatto--with his "Teacher of the Year" credibility---is the guy who got the dialogue started. Even the idea of renting such a venerable performance space for the event defies elitist decorum. The fact that certain teachers' unions and teachers' colleges tried to diss the "speakout" adds additional outlaw cachet.

Old homeschooling and unschooling hands won't find anything particularly new here--Gatto's speaches are reprinted elsewhere. But the various Sudbury-style and community grassroots school reps' presentations --as well as the pleas of Gatto's young students--are wonderful. If you're feeling draggy in your commitment to a Better Way than the American Public Education Behemoth, this book is like a good hug.