The ideas and principles of schooling have been around almost as long as civilized humans have been walking the earth. The majority of people would most likely tell you that schooling-education in general is a must if you are looking to live and lead a “normal” productive life. In the article, “Against School” by John Taylor Gatto, he deviates from this way of thinking, and argues that school is ultimately a waste of time. Gatto even goes as far to say that school turns children into “gullible, mindless consumers.” I do not agree with this idea for several reasons. Let me explain why.
The first reason why I don’t think that school conditions students and children to be “mindless, gullible consumers”, is the fact that just about everyone who has made it out of high school knows how much hard work, and dedication it takes to get through it all-with passing grades at that. In the second paragraph, on the very first page, Gatto makes a claim about how the school system has affected not only the quality of life for students, but teachers as well. “Teacher are themselves products…trapped inside structures even more rigid than those imposed on the children.”(1) A lot of students could probably tell you how true this quote may seem. But, what many fail to realize is that teachers are thee for a reason-they enjoy teaching! It is true that not all teachers are built the same. Of course there are teachers who could care less what, or who, or how they’re teaching. But, for Gatto to make such a broad assumption that all teachers are “bored” and “trapped” would be insulting to a large majority of teachers, who take pride in knowing that what they are teaching can change peoples lives. In my senior year of high school, my AP English teacher was a prime example of that. We studied the work of Shakespeare, as well as classic books, such as “The Great Gatsby”, and “Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. We learned about structuring essays, and the different types of essays that could be written. She showed us countless methods and ways to strengthen our reading, writing, and comprehension skills. My AP English teacher was a living example of one reason why John Gatto’s claim about the school system is false.
Another reason why I disagree with Gatto’s claim about public education “crippling” children is that the school system is not at total fault. For every “bored” or “trapped” teacher, there are countless more students that feel the exact same way. In the article, “Learning (Your First Job)” by Robert Leamnson, he makes a very important point about learning. “…Learning is not something that just happens…You cannot be ‘given’ learning, nor can you be forced to do it.”(1) This quote may just be the most obvious quote in existence, but it is also the most overlooked. The reason the public school system does not work for everyone, is that not everyone has the want, or will to succeed. Therefore, not everyone will succeed. CUNY is a public school system, for graduates of high school. I find the biggest difference in “types” of people is noticed when you go to college, from high school. In high school, a lot of people are there because they legally need to, its mandatory. This reflects in their attitudes, and obviously their grades. In college, however, there is a substantial increase in the number of students who actually want to learn. They are there to benefit themselves. That desire, is the driving factor that pushes most to their limits, and to ultimately accomplish their goals.
The last reason why I disagree with Gatto about the public education system is the fact that Gatto’s word should not be taken at face value. We have already seen the broad generalizations made by Gatto about teachers, how products of the public education system are “gullible, mindless consumers”. Gatto makes yet another generalizing statement regarding school, and its overall purpose. “…School is meant to determine each students proper social role…As in ‘your permanent record'”.(4) Now here is where we really get to see the immense claims Gatto is making. Gatto seems to have created a conspiracy theory, conspiring against the public education system. Though a “gutsy” move, once you realize that what Gatto is essentially saying is that schooling determines where you will be in life, socially. Not the individual. He also is saying that your permanent record somehow has a huge help in this decision, I think most would agree that that is not a very sound statement to make.
In conclusion, Gatto’s various outlandish claims about school turning kids into zombies, are in fact unjustly found. It involves conspiracies, and statements made to seem like facts, based on a total bias. A bias that goes against the public education system of today, and everything that it stands for. Like I mentioned in the introduction, schooling and its principles have been around for a very long time. It has produced some of the greatest, and influential minds ever to have lived. If the school system was as detrimentally corrupt and broken as Gattos claims it to be, then we literally would all be zombies. School, like life, is whatever you make it out to be.
