NORWICH – Local author and speaker John Taylor Gatto, a self-described “freelance, unaffiliated critic of institutional schooling worldwide,” will speak from 5 to 8 p.m. on June 9 in the Guernsey Memorial Library meeting room at 3 Court St.

Gatto’s latest book, and the topic of next week’s seminar, “Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher’s Journey through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling,” challenges readers with a unique, in-depth and controversial analysis of the modern educational system, designed to “match the population to the mass production economy, according to Gatto.

“I had to bear witness with what I saw happening,” stated Gatto, who, during his 30 years as a public school teacher, won a combined five Teacher of the Year awards in both New York State and New York City. “I’ve been doing this now for over 20 years, with over three million miles traveled, and I still wake up angry and go to bed angry.”

In 1991, Gatto said he was “no longer willing to hurt children,” and resigned as a schoolteacher, following which he published his first book, “Dumbing Us Down,” which has sold over 150,000 copies to date.