John Taylor Gatto

John Taylor Gatto was an American author and school teacher. After teaching for nearly 30 years he authored several books on modern education, criticizing its ideology, history, and consequences. He is best known for his books Dumbing Us Down: the Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling, and The Underground History of American Education: A Schoolteacher's Intimate Investigation Into the Problem of Modern Schooling.

* Gatto was born in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, in 1935.
* He attended public schools in Pittsburgh and served in the U.S. Army medical corps.
* He earned a bachelor's degree from Cornell University and a master's degree from Columbia University.
* He taught high school English in New York City for 30 years.
* He was named New York City Teacher of the Year three times and New York State Teacher of the Year in 1991.
* He retired from teaching in 1991 and devoted himself to writing and speaking about education reform.
* He died in New York City in 2018.
* His books have been translated into more than 20 languages.
* He is considered one of the most influential critics of modern education.