Compulsory Miseducation
Penguin Books edition cover, 1971
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| Author | Paul Goodman |
|---|---|
| Subject | Education in the United States |
| Published | 1964 (Horizon Press) |
| Pages | 189 |
| ISBN | |
| 370.1 | |
| LC Class | LB1025 |
Compulsory Miseducation is a critique of American public schools written by Paul Goodman and published by Horizon Press in 1964. Already established as a social critic of American society and the role of its youth in his previous book Growing Up Absurd (1960), Goodman argues in Compulsory Miseducation against the necessity of schools for the socialization of youth and recommends their abolition. He suggests that formal education lasts too long, teaches the wrong social class values, and increasingly damages students over time. Goodman writes that the school reflects the misguided and insincere values of its society and thus school reformers should focus on these values before schools. He proposes a variety of alternatives to school including no school, the city or farm as school, apprenticeships, guided travel, and youth organizations. Reviewers complimented Goodman's style and noted his deliberate contrarianism, but were split on the feasibility of his proposals. Goodman's book was a precursor to the work of deschooling advocate Ivan Illich.
Paul Goodman was an American intellectual and cultural critic who rose to prominence after publishing Growing Up Absurd (1960). In the book, Goodman asserts that the structure of American society was not conducive to the needs of youth. Goodman's subsequent book, The Community of Scholars (1962), and his experience in the classroom, informed his criticism of American schooling and the development of Compulsory Miseducation. The book was initially published in 1964 by Horizon Press, and was later republished by Random House in 1966 and by Penguin Books in 1971.
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