Gatto

John Taylor Gatto was an award winning teacher in New York, but left the profession bitter and jaded. Gatto’s article “Against School,” berates the public school institution criticizing the founding intentions and effectiveness of producing educated individuals. Gatto’s references the Founding Fathers among other noteworthy individuals ranging from the 1800s to the early 1900s as Americans that achieved greatness in life despite not adhering to modern school framework. I found the examples Gatto utilizes in his article antiquated and irrelevant. Gatto states, “… a considerable number of well-known Americans never went through the twelve-year wringer our kids currently go through, and they turned out all right. George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln? Someone taught them, to be sure, but they were not products of a school system, and not one of them was ever ‘graduated’ from a secondary school.” (2) Gatto asserts that prominent leaders in American history that did not attend school is evidence that schooling is not necessary for the education of today’s children. Not only are the individuals he uses as examples outdated, the school houses they would have attended are considerably different from the modern day “school system.” Moreover, doing away with schools will not necessarily remove boredom in youth or produce unique intellectuals. Comparing the schooling of early America to the current educational system or even schools in Gatto’s time of the 1990s, is like comparing apples to oranges. A person’s achievements are not based solely on their educational background but their motivation and perseverance are major components. That being said, some careers, such as medical doctor, require substantial schooling that would seems unattainable without the “twelve-year wringer” as a adequate base to build upon.