On July 25, 1991, after three decades of teaching in New York City’s public schools and earning multiple Teacher of the Year awards, John Taylor Gatto had finally had enough.
He penned a now-famous op-ed in the Wall Street Journal titled “I Quit, I Think.”
He didn’t go quietly.
“I’ve concluded,” he wrote, “that genius is as common as dirt. We suppress genius because we haven't yet figured out how to manage a population of educated men and women.”
That one sentence alone contains more insight into our education system’s failures than most people realize in a lifetime.
Gatto wasn’t just resigning; he was sounding the alarm. He was walking away from a system he believed was actively harming children—one that dulled their curiosity, punished their independence, and rewarded conformity above all else.
“I can’t teach this way any longer,” he said. “If you hear of a job where I don’t have to hurt kids to make a living, let me know.”
Gatto went on to become a legend in the homeschool movement.
His books (Dumbing Us Down, Weapons of Mass Instruction, The Underground History of American Education) exposed how deeply sinister the system really is. He challenged parents to reclaim their children’s education and nurture it in ways the government never could.
It’s impossible to overstate how much his work shaped mine.
The Tuttle Twins and the Education Vacation is based on Gatto’s ideas. It’s a tribute to his mission—a way to introduce families to the idea that education doesn’t have to be confined to classrooms, bell schedules, and rigid curricula.
Because real education is not a system. It’s a relationship between a curious mind and the world.
As we head into another school year, I know more families than ever are questioning whether the traditional model is really serving their kids. If you’ve ever wondered the same, now is the time to take the leap.
We’re offering up to 70% off during our Back to School Sale—including our Family Starter Pack, and our full Back to School Bundle (with 14 books, parent guides, audiobooks, and activity workbooks). We’re also giving a huge discount on our one-time membership to our full Tuttle Twins Academy.
👉 Check out the Back to School Sale here.
Whether you homeschool, unschool, private school, or supplement what your kids are learning in public school, your children deserve an education that respects their individuality and expands their freedom.
That’s what Gatto fought for, that’s what the Tuttle Twins are all about, and that’s what this sale is here to help you do.
I’ll leave you with one more quote from Mr. Gatto that I think about often:
“It is absurd and anti-life to be part of a system that compels you to sit in confinement with people of exactly your own age and social class. That system effectively cuts you off from the immense diversity of life and the synergy of variety; indeed, it cuts you off from your own past and future, sealing you in a continuous present.”
Ladies and gentlemen, the world is out there waiting.
Let’s help our kids get at it.
— Connor
