Author Description

"A Different Kind of Teacher brings together sixteen key essays and talks produced by Gatto between 1990 and 1999. Part One: Schoolrooms Speak Bluntly, includes three pieces written while he was still an active classroom teacher, and a short article written by one of his students, offering a glimpse at how Gatto translated his ideas about true education into the school setting." "Part Two: Analyzing the System includes seven pieces written in the period after Gatto's resignation from public school teaching. They represent a critique of American schooling, filled with insights gleaned from three decades in the classroom combined with years of research into the history and philosophy of Western education." "Part Three: The Search for Meaning, describes some of the results of Gatto's search for the purposes and goals of education and life. Although this section comes last in the book, the effort it records comes first in any serious exploration of what and how we teach our children." "In A Different Kind of Teacher, John Gatto opens readers' eyes to what the American system of education really is, what it ought to be, and what steps can be taken to reach that goal."--Jacket.