Product Description

"Noam Chomsky's prolific writings have made him one of the most-quoted educators in history--the only living writer on a most-cited list that includes Plato, Shakespeare, and Freud. Yet until now, no book has systematically offered Chomsky's influential writings on education. In Chomsky on MisEducation, Noam Chomsky builds a larger understanding of our educational needs, starting with the changing role of schools today, and then broadening our view toward new models of public education for citizenship. Chomsky weaves global technological change and the primacy of responsible media with the democratic role of schools and higher education. A truly democratic society, he argues, cannot thrive in a rapidly changing world unless our approach to education-- formal and otherwise-- is dramatically reformed. Chomsky's critique of how our current educational system miseducates" students-- and his prescriptions for change-- are essential reading for teachers, parents, school administrators, activists, and anyone concerned about the future."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #206712 in Books
• Published on: 2000-10-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 208 pages

About the Author
Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor of Linguistics and Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is the author of more than 80 books. Donaldo Macedo is professor of English and Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts and Education at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

Customer Reviews

A disappointment, but not really surprising
I hate to say it, but this book disappointed me, as a consumer. Be warned, if you have read much Chomsky before, that very little in this book will be new to you, or is unavailable elsewhere, and very little bears on education, mis- or otherwise.

The first chapter is a brief, and I do mean brief, interview of Chomsky by the book's editor, Donaldo Macedo...It does address educational issues, and is interesting except for Chomsky calling Macedo's expressed doubts about claims to objectivity -- Chomsky dismisses this as "postmodernism," which is not only ridiculous but shows one place where the Master jumps on a trendy bandwagon, using "postmodernism" as a term of abuse the way many people use, say, "Political Correctness."

Chapter 2 is a long chapter from Chomsky's 1989 book Necessary Illusions, with some minimal updating in the footnotes. It's a good chapter, and I didn't mind rereading it, but its bearing on education is extremely indirect: it's simply an example of Chomsky's trademark dissection of media/government collusion and lies.

Chapter 3 was delivered as a lecture in South Africa in 1997, originally published there and in the Boston radical magazine Z. It's a good article, analyzing and documenting myths of "free trade" and "free markets." But education? Nope.

Finally, chapter 4 is a transcription of a TV "debate" from the 1980s between Chomsky and the notorious John Silber, then president of Boston University. It's about aid to the contras, the US proxy army against the Sandinistas. This has been excerpted in the documentary Manufacturing Consent. It makes interesting reading now, and it's mildly entertaining to observe a demented and delusional Silber accusing Chomsky of monopolizing the US media on Central American issues. But what does it have to do with education?

The overwhelming bulk of the book, then, has nothing to do with its ostensible topic. Especially if you're new to reading Chomsky, it's not a waste of time to read, but it's not worth your money. If you are curious about Chomsky, get The Chomsky Reader, which as I recall has more material about education than this book does. Shame on Rowman and Littlefield.

I like Chomsky, but this book is a swindle
I should say that I'm a fan of Chomsky's logical approach to political and historical criticism, but I'm afraid the title of this book is misleading. The book claims to be Noam Chomsky's view of education, but only 21 pages (out of 188) focus on Chomsky's ideas regarding education, and even that portion is merely a transcript of an interview in which Chomsky talks for about 16 pages. The rest of the book gives a basic overview of Chomsky's ideas on propaganda. That would be fine if the book was called 'Chomsky on Propaganda, with some notes on Mis-Education', but it isn't.

At a list price of over twenty dollars, I find this book to be overpriced. Chomsky's books are never cheap (and are often beyond the budget of many who might find Chomsky's ideas interesting), but this one is far too expensive considering what the title led me to believe it was.

It wasn't about education
I wish I could have given this book more stars. I admire Chomsky on many different levels and I was very excited to see this book. I am a teacher as is my husband and we feel there are a lot of anti-teacher, anti-public education, anti-students, etc. attitudes facing us, and we feel many are instigated by the corporate attack on the U.S. We thought, "Great! If there is anyone who can break these issues down and do them justice, it's Chomsky." Unfortunately, like the previous reviews stated, he relied on what he knows best which, as always, is well-argued and very peruasive. Yet, education in the U.S. didn't really fit into the big picture. We are disappointed that we bought a book that we have read before (a pastiche of earlier books). I am very let down that there was no exploration of the current state of education. Any analysis of U.S. education would have been nice. The title is deceptive and I am hurt that he didn't write about an issue that hits close to home for me.