I think Wikipedia explains it well: > John Taylor Gatto ... was an American author and school teacher who taught in the classroom for nearly 30 years. He devot

I think Wikipedia explains it well: > John Taylor Gatto ... was an American author and school teacher who taught in the classroom for nearly 30 years. He devoted much of his energy to his teaching career, then, following his resignation, 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, which is sometimes considered to be his magnum opus. I.e. he was a former public school teacher who criticized public education and advocated for alternatives.