Postman (1931-2003) was a media critic and professor of education and communication at New York University for over forty years. He earned a master’s degree and a doctorate in education, in 1955 and 1958, respectively, from Columbia University. His earliest work was in the field of education. He and coauthor Charles Weingartner wrote a book called Teaching as a Subversive Activity, in 1969, in which they advocated the Socratic method in schools. Also called the “inquiry method” or “inquiry education,” this is teaching based on asking meaningful questions that often don’t have easy answers. Students are encouraged to ask questions of their teachers, and teachers facilitate discussion with more questions rather than give pat answers. Students’ interests guide the lessons rather than a preconceived plan from teachers.

Ten years later, in 1979, Postman updated his educational ideas (as sole author) in a book called Teaching as a Conserving Activity. In the ten years that had intervened, the educational and societal environment had changed. In the late 1960s, he perceived society as too static and top-down in nature and presented ways to “subvert” that accordingly. By the late 1970s, the educational environment had relaxed considerably and television dominated culture as a source of information.