John Taylor Gatto’s piece of writing “Against School” was difficult for me to read due to the ironic boredom that I faced while trying to get through it. I say that the boredom is ironic because of his statement that ” …during that time I became an expert in boredom” (1). Gatto at first talks about how the school system is boring for both the students and teachers. Afterwards he throws around an abundance of history while trying to prove his point. I felt like I had just put down an opinionated article and picked up a history textbook. I feel that there is way too much information to take in. Sometimes Gatto even states this information without even explaining how it works such as “…an educational system deliberately designed to produce mediocre intellects, to hamstring the inner life, to deny students appreciable leadership skills, and to ensure docile and incomplete citizens…” (3). He states that Prussian education brings all of these flaws, but doesn’t explain how. Besides all of the boring history and not being in depth at times, I do not fully agree with Gatto’s stance on the school system. He believes that “We have been taught (that is, schooled) in this country to think of ‘success’ as synonymous with, or at least dependent upon, ‘schooling’…” (2) and goes on to say that education being linked to success isn’t true. I believe that today’s world is very technologically advanced and is changing rapidly. In order for people to have a successful career in many jobs we have to prepare with school. We have to be educated and certified in certain fields in order to succeed in them. Maybe before, it was easier to be successful without an education, but now it takes a lot of knowledge to pursue most dream jobs.
