HallSpring19_1101

Gatto

To reread the text in order to get a better understanding, I will make sure I’m in a peaceful environment because I can easily be distracted if there is too much noise (for example the TV). Furthermore, I will get rid of anything that can interfere with my reading such as my phone that I always pick up when I hear a notification. In addition of creating a better reading environment, it’s also important to really read the article. I mean actual reading not skimming or words skipping. As I read an article for the first time, usually I don’t pay enough attention to every single details especially when it’s a long text. However I aleays read more than once so I have a better understanding of the article. The second time reading is basically making sure to figure out words meaning as I read, put a dictionnary aside in case I need to check a definition. If I’m reading alone, usually I read out loud. This helps me stay more focused on the text and also improves pronounciation. Also, if i’m allowed to write on the text, I usually find myself underlining important passages, keys words and citations. This will help later on with explaining the text or answering questions related to the text. The overall “reread” for me is always the most effective way of understanding an article. As long as there is nothing bothering, a peacefull environment will help with a better understanding of the topic.

To re-read this, I plan to do a lot of things differently. For starters, I am not going to be babysitting so I won’t have to stop reading every five minutes to check on anybody. This made it harder to read the text because it felt like I was taking hours to read 5 pages. Also, I will keep my phone away from me, that way I don’t have the urge to pick my phone up and scroll through instagram and facebook.

 

When giving this article another read, I made sure to pay more attention to details. I admit that when I read it the first time, I did a lot of skimming and a lot of the information went over my head. Upon reading for this second time, I learned that our educational system is Prussian in origin, specifically when he states, “We should so eagerly have adopted one of the very worst aspects of Prussian culture: an educational system deliberately designed to produce mediocre intellects, to hamstring the inner life, to deny students appreciable learnership skills, and to endure docile and incomplete citizens.” When I read the article the first time, I skipped most of this part of the text where he brings up historical facts. Although I still believe he saids a mouthful in this article, he actually makes interesting points and it’s good to come across someone who has an unpopular opinion about education. I also learned that well-known successful people like Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson weren’t products of a school system. And we honestly do hear that a lot where a lot of successful people didn’t attend college or even dropped out of school. But, I wouldn’t use this argument to prove his point. Readers can misinterpret this and think that education is unnecessary. Also, I learned that sometimes it’s good to take a step back and reread something that didn’t stick to you the first time. Maybe change the setting, your habits, attack the article in a different way and you’ll find you understand it way better.

When I first read “Against School” by John Taylor Gatto I found myself skipping numerous paragraphs which was the reason why I was not able to comprehend everything. After trying a different approach, I found myself engaged in reading more and finally understood the previous paragraphs I struggled with.

The approach I tried, which brings shock to me because it actually worked, was to tell myself that I wanted to read the text. The very first time I read the passage, I got discouraged quickly due to the many paragraphs and pages but surprisingly, after trying this method I found myself reading non-stop. There was a quote I found relatable but did not pay much attention until I started rereading. Gatto mentioned “The selective function. This refers not to human choice at all but to Darwin’s theory of natural selection as applied to what he called “the favored races.”(4)

Back when I was in high school, I was in an international accelerated program where students were divided into 2 groups, the upper-class and the lower-class. Even though we all paid the same tuition rate, wore the same uniforms, studied in the same class, we never really were the same. It wasn’t only the teachers but most of the students had this “selective” mindset implemented too where the rich kids would only hang out with each other and us lower/middle-class are just species at the bottom of the food chain.

Another method I tried was taking breaks when my eyes started feeling heavy, I pushed through the texts I found boring and also drank a lot of water as it was proven it may help improve focus. Overall, the paragraphs that were previously vague now makes sense to me and rereading gave me a better understanding of what Gatto was trying to say.

Hi guys! Remember we have no class on Tuesday, so I won’t see you until Valentine’s Day!

Your homework is to reread the Gatto article using the plan for rereading we wrote in class. Then, please post a response about what you learned from rereading (approx 250 words) on OpenLab by 10 am on Thursday, Feb 14.

Category is “Gatto” again.

Please also post a photograph of your plan for rereading on that same post (if you prefer, you can type it up and post it.)  Instructions for posting an image are HERE

 

In John Taylor Gatto’s “Against School”  he speaks about how public school is hurting students more than helping. He first starts off by speaking about how teachers are just as bored as students which is part of the problem as to why students are uninterested and don’t see the value of their education. He then goes on the speak about how people like Abraham Lincoln and George Washington were all homeschooled and that they seem to all turn out pretty well, as he describes it  “they were not products of the system”. Gatto making this point makes it out to be that the best possible way for students to learn is through homeschooling, he also speaks about how success isn’t just something that comes with schooling. People are fully capable of educating themselves and this can push away that double standard of needing to be in school. Now at this point it seemed to make sense, but after continuing to read the rest of the article It felt like Gatto was going on tangent with his writing and I was getting a bit lost. I appreciate the detail he decided to get into about his extensive research he did for this article, but it was overly saturated with to much background that his main point was becoming lost. His point of view started to regain itself towards the end of the article when he said this “ we must wake up to what our schools really are: laboratories of experimentation on young minds, drill centers for the habits and attitudes that corporate society demands.” I highly agree that school system is like one big experiment and all the students are like lab rats. Gatto came to the ultimate conclusion that people should just manage themselves, which can be a success or can possibly fail. We never know.

While reading “Against School” by John Taylor Gatto, I can honestly say he lost me a couple of times. Although I agree with many of his points, I feel that at times he said a mouthful. Maybe it’s because I’m not a person that’s interested in history but he really lost my attention when he brought up old history facts. When reading about Prussia, Karl Marx’s conception, World War 1, World War 2,etc. I couldn’t help but feel like I was back in global class. I felt like I was being bombarded with too much information, too many references and I began to forget what his purpose was. Don’t get me wrong, I agree with his take on the educational system for example,”Is this deadly routine necessary? And if so, for what? George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln? Someone taught them, to be sure, but they were products of a school system, and not one of them was ever “graduated” from a secondary school.”(2) I do agree that school is not for everyone but you have to have some kind of plan. Plenty of people find a way to educate themselves without attending school. But as a writer, I think you have to think about what information your reader will find interesting and what will throw them off. It really is a great article and I like how opinionated he is but I believe he could’ve gotten his point across without overloading us with history.

Reading “Against School’ by John Taylor Gatto was confusing at one point and became boring. I was losing my interest in the reading as I moved further along. At first i like how he would talk about kids being bored in class. And i agreed with that because when i was in high school classes were boring to me. When asking kids why class was boring Gatto answers were, “They said they wanted to do something real, not just sitting around. They said teachers didn’t seem to know much about their subjects and clearly weren’t interested in learning more”(1). This is something i agree with i always wanted to do something real in class. Something connected to my life something that i  would use later on. But my teachers seemed not to know how and didn’t even feel interested in the subject that they were teaching.

Something that i was confused about was the history apart that came about in the reading that’s were Gatto lost me and things became boring and losing the interest to read anymore. Gatto starts talking about the history of schooling in the United States and the purpose of school. Gatto states, “We have been taught (that is, schooled) in this country to think of “success” as synonymous with, or at least dependent upon, ” schooling”, but historically that isn’t true in either an intellectual or a financial sense”. (2) After that is went on to talk about H.L Mencken more and everything when down hill there for me. I try to push throw the reading but because my interest was lost i started to do other things.

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.