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Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher's Journey Through The Dark World of Compulsory Schooling
“Gatto draws on thirty years in the classroom and many years of research as a school reformer. He puts forth his thesis with a rhetorical style that is passionate, logical, and laden with examples and illustrations.” ForeWord Magazine
“Weapons of Mass Instruction is probably his best yet. Gatto’s storytelling skill shines as he relates tales of real people who fled the school system and succeeded in spite of the popular wisdom that insists on diplomas, degrees and credentials. If you are just beginning to suspect there may be a problem with schooling (as opposed to educating as Gatto would say), then you’ll not likely find a better expose of the problem than Weapons of Mass Instruction.” Cathy Duffy Reviews
"In this book, the noisy gadfly of U.S. education takes up the question of damage done in the name of schooling. Again he touches on many of the same questions and finds the same answers. Gatto is a bold and compelling critic in a field defined by politic statements, and from the first pages of this book he takes even unwilling readers along with him. In Weapons of Mass Instruction, he speaks movingly to readers' deepest desires for an education that taps their talents and frees frustrated ambitions. It is a challenging and extraordinary book that is a must read for anyone navigating their way through the school system." - Ria Julien - Winnipeg Free Press
John Taylor Gatto’s Weapons of Mass Instruction focuses on mechanisms of familiar schooling that cripple imagination, discourage critical thinking, and create a false view of learning as a by-product of rote-memorization drills. Gatto’s earlier book, Dumbing Us Down, put that now-famous expression of the title into common use worldwide. Weapons of Mass Instruction promises to add another chilling metaphor to the brief against schooling.
Here is a demonstration that the harm school inflicts is quite rational and deliberate, following high-level political theories constructed by Plato, Calvin, Spinoza, Fichte, Darwin, Wundt, and others, which contend the term “education” is meaningless because humanity is strictly limited by necessities of biology, psychology, and theology. The real function of pedagogy is to render the common population manageable.
Realizing that goal demands that the young be conditioned to rely upon experts, remain divided from natural alliances, and accept disconnections from the experiences that create self-reliance and independence.
Escaping this trap requires a different way of growing up, one Gatto calls “open source learning.” In chapters such as “A Letter to Kristina, my Granddaughter”; “Fat Stanley”; and “Walkabout:London,” this different reality is illustrated.
John Taylor Gatto taught for thirty years in public schools before resigning from school-teaching in the op-ed pages of The Wall Street Journal during the year he was named New York State’s official Teacher of the Year. Since then, he has traveled three million miles lecturing on school reform.
“Weapons of Mass Instruction is probably his best yet. Gatto’s storytelling skill shines as he relates tales of real people who fled the school system and succeeded in spite of the popular wisdom that insists on diplomas, degrees and credentials. If you are just beginning to suspect there may be a problem with schooling (as opposed to educating as Gatto would say), then you’ll not likely find a better expose of the problem than Weapons of Mass Instruction.” Cathy Duffy Reviews
"In this book, the noisy gadfly of U.S. education takes up the question of damage done in the name of schooling. Again he touches on many of the same questions and finds the same answers. Gatto is a bold and compelling critic in a field defined by politic statements, and from the first pages of this book he takes even unwilling readers along with him. In Weapons of Mass Instruction, he speaks movingly to readers' deepest desires for an education that taps their talents and frees frustrated ambitions. It is a challenging and extraordinary book that is a must read for anyone navigating their way through the school system." - Ria Julien - Winnipeg Free Press
John Taylor Gatto’s Weapons of Mass Instruction focuses on mechanisms of familiar schooling that cripple imagination, discourage critical thinking, and create a false view of learning as a by-product of rote-memorization drills. Gatto’s earlier book, Dumbing Us Down, put that now-famous expression of the title into common use worldwide. Weapons of Mass Instruction promises to add another chilling metaphor to the brief against schooling.
Here is a demonstration that the harm school inflicts is quite rational and deliberate, following high-level political theories constructed by Plato, Calvin, Spinoza, Fichte, Darwin, Wundt, and others, which contend the term “education” is meaningless because humanity is strictly limited by necessities of biology, psychology, and theology. The real function of pedagogy is to render the common population manageable.
Realizing that goal demands that the young be conditioned to rely upon experts, remain divided from natural alliances, and accept disconnections from the experiences that create self-reliance and independence.
Escaping this trap requires a different way of growing up, one Gatto calls “open source learning.” In chapters such as “A Letter to Kristina, my Granddaughter”; “Fat Stanley”; and “Walkabout:London,” this different reality is illustrated.
John Taylor Gatto taught for thirty years in public schools before resigning from school-teaching in the op-ed pages of The Wall Street Journal during the year he was named New York State’s official Teacher of the Year. Since then, he has traveled three million miles lecturing on school reform.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2008
About the author
John Taylor Gatto
25 books523 followersJohn Taylor Gatto is an American retired school teacher of 29 years and 8 months and author of several books on education. He is an activist critical of compulsory schooling and of what he characterizes as the hegemonic nature of discourse on education and the education professions.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 370 reviews
May 4, 2009
If you have, like me, spent much of your life as a student and teacher in the public schools (24 of the last 28 years), John Taylor Gatto will make you angry and want to throw his book out the window. His libertarian views on institutionalized public schooling are blunt and harsh. Compulsory schooling is a weapon that destroys the joys of knowledge, motivation to succeed, creativity and family cohesion. As I look out on my graduating seniors who have spent the last 13 years in a rat race of GPA, SAT and college admissions, I cannot help but agree with Gatto's premise. These students are drained and some are a bit angry at the system that put them through the wringer.
And if we are honest with ourselves, most of us would agree with Gatto's point that degrees do not make us smarter and successful. Degrees are simply rites of passage, proving desire more than knowledge, consumption over synthesis. To this I think Gatto makes his best argument for the deficiencies of compulsory schooling. Schools do not make us smarter. Unfortunately, for someone so bent on changing the system, he offers little information in what a transition from compulsory schooling to open-sourced learning might look like and how society would benefit, other than homeschooling or giving individuals the freedom to invent more things for the rest of us to consume. Gatto is good at hindsight bias, like any skilled historian is. However, he is short on foresight, which all leaders of revolutions are supposed to possess.
And if we are honest with ourselves, most of us would agree with Gatto's point that degrees do not make us smarter and successful. Degrees are simply rites of passage, proving desire more than knowledge, consumption over synthesis. To this I think Gatto makes his best argument for the deficiencies of compulsory schooling. Schools do not make us smarter. Unfortunately, for someone so bent on changing the system, he offers little information in what a transition from compulsory schooling to open-sourced learning might look like and how society would benefit, other than homeschooling or giving individuals the freedom to invent more things for the rest of us to consume. Gatto is good at hindsight bias, like any skilled historian is. However, he is short on foresight, which all leaders of revolutions are supposed to possess.
June 17, 2011
I really enjoyed this book, respect John Taylor Gatto, and agree with most of what he's saying. But a few things stopped me from giving _Weapons of Mass Instruction_ 4 or even 5 stars. Most importantly:
1. His overblown admiration of the colonial and early national period of American history. Arguing that that period was a time of unparalleled promise and opportunity is not only morally suspect (in my opinion) but also historically inaccurate. Sure, maybe if you weren't one of the one-fifth of the population considered property, a member of half the population who had vaginas and were therefore essentially property, one of the millions of Native Americans slaughtered or dispossessed, or one of the majority "motley" proletariat/propertyless who fared no better in their newly independent democracy than they had under British rule, sure, then maybe you had access to an AWESOME education in early America. The systematic injustices that Gatto argues the school system perpetuates is not an aberration of the "founding fathers'" vision, it was a structuring component of it. Period. Thus, I think this book could have been a lot stronger if it didn't repeatedly suggest that we need to return to the good ole days of early national America.
2. Structure. As in, this book had almost none. I thought it started off strong, but very quickly became a meandering rant punctuated by a few case studies of people who dropped out of school but are still successful. Which is not to say it's not an entertaining rant, but still. This lack of cohesiveness undermines, in my opinion, his larger argument about the point of schools.
3. Related to point #2, there were times where I wondered if Gatto had an editor for this book. I know, I know, English is a dynamic language and blah blah blah blah it's lame to get hung up on grammar blah blah blah (I say this as someone who taught English in college, and really hated when my colleagues emphasized traditional -- and virtually useless -- grammar instruction at the expense of nurturing critical thought). But some of the grammar mistakes in this text were DISTRACTING. Paired with the structure I sometimes I felt like I was just intuiting Gatto's unedited thoughts straight from his brain.
Which is, again, not to say that they're not very important and interesting unedited thoughts. I just thought this book lost a lot of steam as it moved forward and could have been a lot stronger.
4. I think the idea that schools should be turned over to the free market (the same free market that appears to be at the root of all the other problems Gatto bemoans?) REPREHENSIBLE. 'Nuff said.
I would recommend _Dumbing Us Down_ (although it shares some of these problems, particularly #1) before recommending this one.
1. His overblown admiration of the colonial and early national period of American history. Arguing that that period was a time of unparalleled promise and opportunity is not only morally suspect (in my opinion) but also historically inaccurate. Sure, maybe if you weren't one of the one-fifth of the population considered property, a member of half the population who had vaginas and were therefore essentially property, one of the millions of Native Americans slaughtered or dispossessed, or one of the majority "motley" proletariat/propertyless who fared no better in their newly independent democracy than they had under British rule, sure, then maybe you had access to an AWESOME education in early America. The systematic injustices that Gatto argues the school system perpetuates is not an aberration of the "founding fathers'" vision, it was a structuring component of it. Period. Thus, I think this book could have been a lot stronger if it didn't repeatedly suggest that we need to return to the good ole days of early national America.
2. Structure. As in, this book had almost none. I thought it started off strong, but very quickly became a meandering rant punctuated by a few case studies of people who dropped out of school but are still successful. Which is not to say it's not an entertaining rant, but still. This lack of cohesiveness undermines, in my opinion, his larger argument about the point of schools.
3. Related to point #2, there were times where I wondered if Gatto had an editor for this book. I know, I know, English is a dynamic language and blah blah blah blah it's lame to get hung up on grammar blah blah blah (I say this as someone who taught English in college, and really hated when my colleagues emphasized traditional -- and virtually useless -- grammar instruction at the expense of nurturing critical thought). But some of the grammar mistakes in this text were DISTRACTING. Paired with the structure I sometimes I felt like I was just intuiting Gatto's unedited thoughts straight from his brain.
Which is, again, not to say that they're not very important and interesting unedited thoughts. I just thought this book lost a lot of steam as it moved forward and could have been a lot stronger.
4. I think the idea that schools should be turned over to the free market (the same free market that appears to be at the root of all the other problems Gatto bemoans?) REPREHENSIBLE. 'Nuff said.
I would recommend _Dumbing Us Down_ (although it shares some of these problems, particularly #1) before recommending this one.
May 22, 2019
Önce kimsenin kitabın adına bakıp aldanmaması gerektiğini söyleyelim. Kitap eğitime karşı değil. Eğitim üzerinden bir sistem eleştirisi de yapmıyor. Gatto'nun çalışması: 1- eğitime değil okula karşı, 2- Amerikan eğitim sistemine karşı, 3- Prusya tarzı zorunlu eğitime karşı. Valhasılı değil eğitim karşıtlığı eğitimi destekler pozisyonda ve yeni alternatifler geliştirme çabasında...
Benim alternatif eğitim ve eleştirel pedagojiye ilgim esasında çok öncesine dayanır. Alanla ilgili epey bir kaynak elimden geçtiği gibi bir süreli yayına da konu ile ilgili bir kaç yazı yazmıştım. Ama zamanla konuya ilgim azaldı. Azaldı demek aslında pek doğru değil. Konu ile ilgili çalışmalarda çok fazla yenilik görmediğim için pratik bir uygulama olmadıkça kulağımı tıkıyordum yeni incelemelere, çalışmalara. Ama işte gün geldi Milli Eğitim konuya beklenmedik şekilde ilgi gösterdi ve bana da bu kitapla ilgili kurumumda bir sunum yapmam istendi. Velhasılı bir ödev sorumluluğuyla okudum eseri.
1818 tarihli Prusya tarzı zorunlu eğitimin bireyi, toplumu değil kurumları ve konu ile ilgili kazanç sağlayan sektörün çıkarlarını koruduğu için karşı çıkılıyor zorunlu eğitime. Gatto da aynı mantıkla karşı zorunlu eğitime: Prusya tarzı eğitimin amacı neydi peki, kısa geçelim:
1- Orduya itaatkâr askerler yetiştirmek,
2- Maden ocaklarında çalıştırılmak üzere itaatkâr işçiler yetiştirmek,
3- Hükümetlere azamî düzeyde tabi olacak sivil hizmetliler yetiştirmek,
4- Endüstriyel yapıların emrinde çalışacak memurlar yetiştirmek,
5- Kritik konu ve sorunlarda birbirine yakın düşünen vatandaşlar yetiştirmek.
Anlaşıldığı üzere aradan geçen iki yüz yıla rağmen değişen bir şey yok... Velhasılı eğitim hiçbir zaman aşağıdan gelen bir talep olmamıştır, devletin ve hakim sınıfların isteğidir, ayna zamanda sistemin ikna aygıtıdır. “zorunlu eğitim” düşüncesinin tarihi aslında daha da eskidir ve Platon’dan beri birçok ütopyacı yazar bunun zeminini hazırlamıştır. Bu manada yazar Calvin, Francis Bacon, Spinoza, Thomas Hobbes, Johann Fichte, Charles Darwin gibi isimleri özellikle “fişlemektedir.” Ama Althusser haklıydı sistemin ikna aygıtıydı. Gramsci'nin de dediği gibi eğitim sayesinde elde edilen statüler (doktor, avukat, mühendis) de bireyin sömürü düzeniyle barışık olmasına aracılık etmekte..
Kitaptan Başlıklar:
1. Öğretmenlik bir memuriyet mi, yoksa eğitim paradigmasının başındaki liderlik anlayışı mı? “Öğretmenlik kariyerimin ilk ayından itibaren girdiğim sınıflarda entelektüel gücün, yaratıcı sezginin ve iyi karakterin seviyesinin hep azaldığını ve aslında benim de tam olarak bu iş için
para aldığımı fark ettim (s.147). Okul artık (…) sanayicilerin siparişi üzerine tanzim edilen bir davranışsal eğitim laboratuvarına dönüşmüştür. Devlet okulu sınıflarında otuz yıl canavara hizmet ettikten sonra 1991’de öğretmenliği bıraktığımda, gördüğüm ve ne yazık ki yaptığım şeyler –beni affedin- konusunda tanıklık edeceğime dair kendime söz vermiştim. Bu kitap, benim o sözü tutma yollarımdan biridir (s.47).”
2. ( Bir anekdot) Pink Floyd’un The Wall klip ve film: “Eğitime ihtiyacımız yok. Düşünce kontrolüne ihtiyacımız yok, sınıfta alay edilmeye hayır! Öğretmen! Çocukları rahat bırak! Çünkü sonuç sadece duvarda başka bir tuğla olmak!” sözlerini içeren şarkının klibinde yürüyen bir platform üzerinde fabrikaya giren çocuklar yüzleri maskeli ve sıralara oturmuş tek tip öğrencilere dönüşmekte ve daha sonra tek tek
düştükleri öğütücüden standart “kıymalar” olarak çıkmaktadırlar. Bence milli eğitim ile ilgili en sert eleştiri..
3. Gatto, okuldaki eğitim süreçlerini yönlendiren pedagoji, eğitim psikolojisi ve öğretmen yetiştirme programlarına “düşman” olduğunu açıkça belirtmektedir. Ona göre okul eğitimi aracılığıyla dayatılan toptancı psikoloji öğrencilerin biricikliklerini ölüme mahkum etmiş,
uzmanlaşan pedagoji okul kurumunu şirketler ekonomisinin hizmetine sokmuştur.
4. Öte yandan çocukları öğretmenlerin anlık sorularına doğru cevap verme yeteneklerine göre zorla sıraya koyan bu psikolojik süreçler ya patolojilerin artmasına ya da yeni patolojilerin“uydurulmasına” sebep olmaktadır.
5. Gatto’ya göre okullaşma sürecinin en kötü sonuçlarından biri çocukluk süresinin uzaması olmuştur. On dokuzuncu yüzyıldaki anaokulu hareketini ve çizgi filmleri de çocukluğun uzamasını amaçlayan projenin bir parçası olarak gören yazar, çocukların zihinlerini gerçek
dünya fikirlerinden uzaklaştırdıkları için hayali karaketerlerle dolu çocuk gelişim teorilerini şiddetle eleştirmekte ve ailelere çocuklarının çocukluk sürelerinin uzamasına asla izin vermemelerini telkin etmektedir... !!!
6. Tektipleştirme, sınflandırma ve yarışmanın çocukları edilgin hale getirdiğini, boyun eğen, kaderine razı bireyler yarattığını...
7. Okulun “zamanı parçaladığına” dair tespiti bunlardan biridir.Kesintisiz ve derin bir uyku gibi kesintisiz uyanıklık zamanının da aynı derecede hayati öneme sahip olduğunu belirten yazara göre okul, zil sesleri, bağrışmalar, ziyaretçiler vs. gibi şeylerle on iki yıl boyunca öğrencilerin dikkatlerinin bölündüğü, yoğunlaşma yeteneklerinin baltalandığı ve psikolojilerinin alt üst edildiği bir yerdir.
8. Okul, kendisinin dışındaki gelişme yollarının aleyhine çalışan bir kurumdur. Aktif bir şekilde üretmekten alıkoyarak çocukları pasif tüketiciler haline getirir. Okula girdiği andan itibaren “yapma” talimleriyle karşılaşan öğrencilerde kayıtsızlık baş gösterir. Başkalarının çıkar ve ilgileri etrafında bina edilmiş okul gençlerde daimi surette bir “ait hissetmeme” duygusu besler.
9. Yazarın okul eğitimine alternatif olarak önerdiği eğitim şekli açık kaynaklı öğrenmedir... Açık kaynaklı öğrenme esnek mekanları ve esnek sıralama düzenlerini içine alan esnek zamanlı bir faaliyettir çünkü insan çeşitliliği bunu gerektirir. Kişisel olarak yönetilen bireyselleşmiş bir
eğitim olan açık kaynaklı öğrenmede kimin öğretmen olacağına hükümet değil öğrencinin kendisi karar verir. Öğrenci aktiftir ve kendi eğitim harcını karma sorumluluğunu yüklenir... Hayata değer katmanın okulla değil, okula rağmen gerçekleştiğine dair tezini delillendirmek
için Gatto, Amerika tarihinden - okula hiç gitmeden ya da okulu bırakarak- açık kaynaklı öğrenme şekillerini benimsemiş başarılı kişilerin örneklerine sıkça yer vermektedir. Benjamin Franklin, David Farragut, Jonathan Goodwin, George Washington, Thomas Edison ve Bernard
Shaw yazarın örnek olarak zikrettiği isimler arasındadır.
10. Müfredatının merkezine öğrencilerin öğrenmek istedikleri konuları ve kendi tespit ettikleri zayıflıklarının çözümünü koyan Gatto, genel hedefi de “kendi hayatına senaryo yazma becerisi” olarak belirlemiştir. Yine aynı bölümde“Gatto’nun Gerillaları” adını verdiği grubuyla
zorunlu okul eğitiminin zararlarına dair farkındalık oluşturmak için toplum genelinde yaptığı çalışmalara da yer vermektedir.
11. Yazara göre okul, ıslah çabalarıyla zaman kaybedilecek bir yer değildir, ortadan kaldırılması gerekir. Çözüm evvela bu sistemin içine hiç girmemek olduğunu söyleyen Gatto, bir açık kaynak öğrenme şekli örneği olarak sunduğu ev okulu projesini uygulayan aileleri tebrik
etmektedir. Sistemden kendini sıyıramayanlar içinse Gatto, son bölümde yer verdiği Bartleby projesini geliştirmiştir. Bir sivil itaatsizlik örneği sayılabilecek bu projeye göre ilk adım, ülkenin farklı yerlerindeki öğrencilerin “ben senin testini cevaplamak istemiyorum” şeklinde mevcut sisteme tepkilerini göstermeleri olacaktır. Yazar, ufak sayılabilecek bu tür reddedişlerin git gide büyüyerek okul sistemini kökünden sarsacağına olan inancını dile getirmekte ve kitabı sonlandırmaktadır.
Benim alternatif eğitim ve eleştirel pedagojiye ilgim esasında çok öncesine dayanır. Alanla ilgili epey bir kaynak elimden geçtiği gibi bir süreli yayına da konu ile ilgili bir kaç yazı yazmıştım. Ama zamanla konuya ilgim azaldı. Azaldı demek aslında pek doğru değil. Konu ile ilgili çalışmalarda çok fazla yenilik görmediğim için pratik bir uygulama olmadıkça kulağımı tıkıyordum yeni incelemelere, çalışmalara. Ama işte gün geldi Milli Eğitim konuya beklenmedik şekilde ilgi gösterdi ve bana da bu kitapla ilgili kurumumda bir sunum yapmam istendi. Velhasılı bir ödev sorumluluğuyla okudum eseri.
1818 tarihli Prusya tarzı zorunlu eğitimin bireyi, toplumu değil kurumları ve konu ile ilgili kazanç sağlayan sektörün çıkarlarını koruduğu için karşı çıkılıyor zorunlu eğitime. Gatto da aynı mantıkla karşı zorunlu eğitime: Prusya tarzı eğitimin amacı neydi peki, kısa geçelim:
1- Orduya itaatkâr askerler yetiştirmek,
2- Maden ocaklarında çalıştırılmak üzere itaatkâr işçiler yetiştirmek,
3- Hükümetlere azamî düzeyde tabi olacak sivil hizmetliler yetiştirmek,
4- Endüstriyel yapıların emrinde çalışacak memurlar yetiştirmek,
5- Kritik konu ve sorunlarda birbirine yakın düşünen vatandaşlar yetiştirmek.
Anlaşıldığı üzere aradan geçen iki yüz yıla rağmen değişen bir şey yok... Velhasılı eğitim hiçbir zaman aşağıdan gelen bir talep olmamıştır, devletin ve hakim sınıfların isteğidir, ayna zamanda sistemin ikna aygıtıdır. “zorunlu eğitim” düşüncesinin tarihi aslında daha da eskidir ve Platon’dan beri birçok ütopyacı yazar bunun zeminini hazırlamıştır. Bu manada yazar Calvin, Francis Bacon, Spinoza, Thomas Hobbes, Johann Fichte, Charles Darwin gibi isimleri özellikle “fişlemektedir.” Ama Althusser haklıydı sistemin ikna aygıtıydı. Gramsci'nin de dediği gibi eğitim sayesinde elde edilen statüler (doktor, avukat, mühendis) de bireyin sömürü düzeniyle barışık olmasına aracılık etmekte..
Kitaptan Başlıklar:
1. Öğretmenlik bir memuriyet mi, yoksa eğitim paradigmasının başındaki liderlik anlayışı mı? “Öğretmenlik kariyerimin ilk ayından itibaren girdiğim sınıflarda entelektüel gücün, yaratıcı sezginin ve iyi karakterin seviyesinin hep azaldığını ve aslında benim de tam olarak bu iş için
para aldığımı fark ettim (s.147). Okul artık (…) sanayicilerin siparişi üzerine tanzim edilen bir davranışsal eğitim laboratuvarına dönüşmüştür. Devlet okulu sınıflarında otuz yıl canavara hizmet ettikten sonra 1991’de öğretmenliği bıraktığımda, gördüğüm ve ne yazık ki yaptığım şeyler –beni affedin- konusunda tanıklık edeceğime dair kendime söz vermiştim. Bu kitap, benim o sözü tutma yollarımdan biridir (s.47).”
2. ( Bir anekdot) Pink Floyd’un The Wall klip ve film: “Eğitime ihtiyacımız yok. Düşünce kontrolüne ihtiyacımız yok, sınıfta alay edilmeye hayır! Öğretmen! Çocukları rahat bırak! Çünkü sonuç sadece duvarda başka bir tuğla olmak!” sözlerini içeren şarkının klibinde yürüyen bir platform üzerinde fabrikaya giren çocuklar yüzleri maskeli ve sıralara oturmuş tek tip öğrencilere dönüşmekte ve daha sonra tek tek
düştükleri öğütücüden standart “kıymalar” olarak çıkmaktadırlar. Bence milli eğitim ile ilgili en sert eleştiri..
3. Gatto, okuldaki eğitim süreçlerini yönlendiren pedagoji, eğitim psikolojisi ve öğretmen yetiştirme programlarına “düşman” olduğunu açıkça belirtmektedir. Ona göre okul eğitimi aracılığıyla dayatılan toptancı psikoloji öğrencilerin biricikliklerini ölüme mahkum etmiş,
uzmanlaşan pedagoji okul kurumunu şirketler ekonomisinin hizmetine sokmuştur.
4. Öte yandan çocukları öğretmenlerin anlık sorularına doğru cevap verme yeteneklerine göre zorla sıraya koyan bu psikolojik süreçler ya patolojilerin artmasına ya da yeni patolojilerin“uydurulmasına” sebep olmaktadır.
5. Gatto’ya göre okullaşma sürecinin en kötü sonuçlarından biri çocukluk süresinin uzaması olmuştur. On dokuzuncu yüzyıldaki anaokulu hareketini ve çizgi filmleri de çocukluğun uzamasını amaçlayan projenin bir parçası olarak gören yazar, çocukların zihinlerini gerçek
dünya fikirlerinden uzaklaştırdıkları için hayali karaketerlerle dolu çocuk gelişim teorilerini şiddetle eleştirmekte ve ailelere çocuklarının çocukluk sürelerinin uzamasına asla izin vermemelerini telkin etmektedir... !!!
6. Tektipleştirme, sınflandırma ve yarışmanın çocukları edilgin hale getirdiğini, boyun eğen, kaderine razı bireyler yarattığını...
7. Okulun “zamanı parçaladığına” dair tespiti bunlardan biridir.Kesintisiz ve derin bir uyku gibi kesintisiz uyanıklık zamanının da aynı derecede hayati öneme sahip olduğunu belirten yazara göre okul, zil sesleri, bağrışmalar, ziyaretçiler vs. gibi şeylerle on iki yıl boyunca öğrencilerin dikkatlerinin bölündüğü, yoğunlaşma yeteneklerinin baltalandığı ve psikolojilerinin alt üst edildiği bir yerdir.
8. Okul, kendisinin dışındaki gelişme yollarının aleyhine çalışan bir kurumdur. Aktif bir şekilde üretmekten alıkoyarak çocukları pasif tüketiciler haline getirir. Okula girdiği andan itibaren “yapma” talimleriyle karşılaşan öğrencilerde kayıtsızlık baş gösterir. Başkalarının çıkar ve ilgileri etrafında bina edilmiş okul gençlerde daimi surette bir “ait hissetmeme” duygusu besler.
9. Yazarın okul eğitimine alternatif olarak önerdiği eğitim şekli açık kaynaklı öğrenmedir... Açık kaynaklı öğrenme esnek mekanları ve esnek sıralama düzenlerini içine alan esnek zamanlı bir faaliyettir çünkü insan çeşitliliği bunu gerektirir. Kişisel olarak yönetilen bireyselleşmiş bir
eğitim olan açık kaynaklı öğrenmede kimin öğretmen olacağına hükümet değil öğrencinin kendisi karar verir. Öğrenci aktiftir ve kendi eğitim harcını karma sorumluluğunu yüklenir... Hayata değer katmanın okulla değil, okula rağmen gerçekleştiğine dair tezini delillendirmek
için Gatto, Amerika tarihinden - okula hiç gitmeden ya da okulu bırakarak- açık kaynaklı öğrenme şekillerini benimsemiş başarılı kişilerin örneklerine sıkça yer vermektedir. Benjamin Franklin, David Farragut, Jonathan Goodwin, George Washington, Thomas Edison ve Bernard
Shaw yazarın örnek olarak zikrettiği isimler arasındadır.
10. Müfredatının merkezine öğrencilerin öğrenmek istedikleri konuları ve kendi tespit ettikleri zayıflıklarının çözümünü koyan Gatto, genel hedefi de “kendi hayatına senaryo yazma becerisi” olarak belirlemiştir. Yine aynı bölümde“Gatto’nun Gerillaları” adını verdiği grubuyla
zorunlu okul eğitiminin zararlarına dair farkındalık oluşturmak için toplum genelinde yaptığı çalışmalara da yer vermektedir.
11. Yazara göre okul, ıslah çabalarıyla zaman kaybedilecek bir yer değildir, ortadan kaldırılması gerekir. Çözüm evvela bu sistemin içine hiç girmemek olduğunu söyleyen Gatto, bir açık kaynak öğrenme şekli örneği olarak sunduğu ev okulu projesini uygulayan aileleri tebrik
etmektedir. Sistemden kendini sıyıramayanlar içinse Gatto, son bölümde yer verdiği Bartleby projesini geliştirmiştir. Bir sivil itaatsizlik örneği sayılabilecek bu projeye göre ilk adım, ülkenin farklı yerlerindeki öğrencilerin “ben senin testini cevaplamak istemiyorum” şeklinde mevcut sisteme tepkilerini göstermeleri olacaktır. Yazar, ufak sayılabilecek bu tür reddedişlerin git gide büyüyerek okul sistemini kökünden sarsacağına olan inancını dile getirmekte ve kitabı sonlandırmaktadır.
August 18, 2010
This seems mostly like an abbreviated version of his "The Underground History of American Education" which I am currently reading. I thought it served its purpose effectively and agree with its conclusions.
My wife commented on the book's lack of formal foot- or endnotes, but the author describes his reasons for doing so, calling out many references on the fly in the text and opining that the ideas are more important than the specific location of facts anyone can check online. This may or may not suit you.
Most people would think it beyond radical to contemplate the idea of dismantling our public education system completely, but I'm also completely comfortable with the idea of completely dismantling many other taken-for-granted institutions, so this work is right in my wheelhouse.
When you pause to consider the baggage of money and influence involved in education, and the fact that the correlation between increased funding and results is actually *negative*, not to mention that the schools are Lord-of-the-Flies pits of violence and alienation, you have to recognize that the current system is an epic disaster.
Addionally, if you think that certain things just *have* to be taught (pick your issue: evolution, various characteristics of government, morals, religion, whatever), you might also pause that for every thing to force people to learn, some other group is forcing your kids to learn something you don't like. Like they say, compromise is the art of reaching a solution that doesn't make anybody happy.
Basic reading takes about 30 hours to learn. Basic math is about the same. Everything else can flow from there naturally.
Why all the overhead?
My wife commented on the book's lack of formal foot- or endnotes, but the author describes his reasons for doing so, calling out many references on the fly in the text and opining that the ideas are more important than the specific location of facts anyone can check online. This may or may not suit you.
Most people would think it beyond radical to contemplate the idea of dismantling our public education system completely, but I'm also completely comfortable with the idea of completely dismantling many other taken-for-granted institutions, so this work is right in my wheelhouse.
When you pause to consider the baggage of money and influence involved in education, and the fact that the correlation between increased funding and results is actually *negative*, not to mention that the schools are Lord-of-the-Flies pits of violence and alienation, you have to recognize that the current system is an epic disaster.
Addionally, if you think that certain things just *have* to be taught (pick your issue: evolution, various characteristics of government, morals, religion, whatever), you might also pause that for every thing to force people to learn, some other group is forcing your kids to learn something you don't like. Like they say, compromise is the art of reaching a solution that doesn't make anybody happy.
Basic reading takes about 30 hours to learn. Basic math is about the same. Everything else can flow from there naturally.
Why all the overhead?
April 8, 2013
Massively disappointing. I had been looking forward to reading this for ages, ever since I heard a positive review on boing boing's podcast. The topic is one that I completely identify with - which is probably why I was so diappointed, i.e the book contain a germ of a great idea but has no substance.
From the start my alarm bells were set off by the number of unsupported assertions the author was making (no footnotes or references).
The examples of successful people that Gatto presents do not support his argument either. A bit of basic googling unravels the falsifications that he presents. e.g. Craig Venter is presented as a "beach bum drop out" He actually has a conventional academic history, high school grad, PhD. I won't list them all but a bit of basic research really undermines his arguments. And who wants their kid to be like Richard Branson anyway? He's picked some strange examples.
Other reviewers have pointed out Gatto's rose-tinted view of pre-war America. I'm not American so I don't know it intimately, but this bias was obvious. Other biases that I took more personally: Gatto completely (deliberately?) misconstrues Darwin as a eugenicist and Marx as irrelevant.
The book is unstructured, repeats itself and comes across as a rant from a bitter ex-teacher.
From the start my alarm bells were set off by the number of unsupported assertions the author was making (no footnotes or references).
The examples of successful people that Gatto presents do not support his argument either. A bit of basic googling unravels the falsifications that he presents. e.g. Craig Venter is presented as a "beach bum drop out" He actually has a conventional academic history, high school grad, PhD. I won't list them all but a bit of basic research really undermines his arguments. And who wants their kid to be like Richard Branson anyway? He's picked some strange examples.
Other reviewers have pointed out Gatto's rose-tinted view of pre-war America. I'm not American so I don't know it intimately, but this bias was obvious. Other biases that I took more personally: Gatto completely (deliberately?) misconstrues Darwin as a eugenicist and Marx as irrelevant.
The book is unstructured, repeats itself and comes across as a rant from a bitter ex-teacher.
March 5, 2015
John Taylor Gatto is one of those... voices in the wilderness that we all really need to listen to. And one of the things that really sticks out to me is that he is a very gentle man: just watch his interviews on youtube.
I have both read this book, in my early days of homeschooling, and listened to it on audio. I think the thing that really strikes me, here, is: What Exactly is the role of public school in our society?? I won't get into my own homeschooling journey (and search for answers to that question) but I will say Mr. Gatto's work opened my eyes in a way they hadn't been opened before. His understanding of children, what they are actually capable of compared to how we treat them, was almost enough to bring one to tears. His struggles to create an educational environment for his pupils border on heroic.
I will warn you: John Taylor Gatto is a bit of a 'gateway drug' into the darker underbelly of public school. His books lead me to an almost horror-filled fascination with this subject, and answers to questions I hadn't yet asked. Even if you find Mr. Gatto's claims a bit farther-fetched than you are prepared for, it doesn't take long before you realize Mr. Gatto was actually painting things rosier than how they really stand.
I have both read this book, in my early days of homeschooling, and listened to it on audio. I think the thing that really strikes me, here, is: What Exactly is the role of public school in our society?? I won't get into my own homeschooling journey (and search for answers to that question) but I will say Mr. Gatto's work opened my eyes in a way they hadn't been opened before. His understanding of children, what they are actually capable of compared to how we treat them, was almost enough to bring one to tears. His struggles to create an educational environment for his pupils border on heroic.
I will warn you: John Taylor Gatto is a bit of a 'gateway drug' into the darker underbelly of public school. His books lead me to an almost horror-filled fascination with this subject, and answers to questions I hadn't yet asked. Even if you find Mr. Gatto's claims a bit farther-fetched than you are prepared for, it doesn't take long before you realize Mr. Gatto was actually painting things rosier than how they really stand.
November 30, 2010
Every homeschooler should read this work by John Taylor Gatto, and in fact, everyone who went through the public schoolsystem, or who has a child in the public school system (that is in the American sense, not the British) should read it too.
It is a darkly descriptive book, telling why the school systems are the way they are, and how they got that way. I can summarise the basic premises in the book thus:
Compulsory schooling is a construct of a small number of people with the following aims in mind:
(a) To instruct people in WHAT to think
(b) To prolong childhood to make the people more easily manipulated
(c) To prevent individual thought
(d) To make money
(e) To reduce the power of family by dividing and conquering
(f) To prevent 'over production' which is an excess of inventions rapidly changing products
(g) To make it easier for corporations to convince people to buy their stuff
Standardised tests have little to no correlation to knowledge or intelligence.
Universities teach very little that people retain later, and are run on monetary concerns.
I am sure I missed some parts, and I certainly missed out the corroborating resources that Gatto uses to illustrate his points.
Truthfully told, it was not particularly surprising. The information he gave was such that it explained more to my husband and me that I had thought. It showed us that a lot of the issues we see with modern schooling (and the products of that system) are deliberate.
But rather than try to explain it all, I urge you to read the book for yourself. To digest the information for yourself, and THEN make up your mind. After all, I am not trying to force MY ideas and beliefs upon you- unlike the typical school system does ;)
It is a darkly descriptive book, telling why the school systems are the way they are, and how they got that way. I can summarise the basic premises in the book thus:
Compulsory schooling is a construct of a small number of people with the following aims in mind:
(a) To instruct people in WHAT to think
(b) To prolong childhood to make the people more easily manipulated
(c) To prevent individual thought
(d) To make money
(e) To reduce the power of family by dividing and conquering
(f) To prevent 'over production' which is an excess of inventions rapidly changing products
(g) To make it easier for corporations to convince people to buy their stuff
Standardised tests have little to no correlation to knowledge or intelligence.
Universities teach very little that people retain later, and are run on monetary concerns.
I am sure I missed some parts, and I certainly missed out the corroborating resources that Gatto uses to illustrate his points.
Truthfully told, it was not particularly surprising. The information he gave was such that it explained more to my husband and me that I had thought. It showed us that a lot of the issues we see with modern schooling (and the products of that system) are deliberate.
But rather than try to explain it all, I urge you to read the book for yourself. To digest the information for yourself, and THEN make up your mind. After all, I am not trying to force MY ideas and beliefs upon you- unlike the typical school system does ;)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 21, 2010
While it might seem heretical to recommend this book on teacher appreciation "week" (yes, it used to be a day of thanks, but has been perverted into a week-long orgy) but I cant hold back my own anger over all the time wasted by compulsory schooling. While I don't want this to sound like a rant against teachers, of whom there are many I am very fond of and have a great deal of respect for. As parents we need to critically examine the system in which our children are trapped in 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, 9 months a year for 12+ years of their lives. It is very complicated, but it is a lot more important than who wins American Idol.
"In 1995 a student teacher of 5th graders in Minneapolis wrote a letter to the editor of the Star-Tribune complaining about radically dumbed down curriculum. She wrote that 113 years earlier 5th graders in Minneapolis were reading William Shakespeare, Henry Thoreau, George Washington, Sir Walter Scott, Mark Twain, Benjamin Franklin, Oliver Wendall Holmes, John Buynan, Daniel Webster, Samuel Johnson, Lewis Caroll, Thomas Jefferson, Emerson and others like them..."
While this week my own 5th grader complained about the snails pace at which her "gifted class" was reading the book "Where the Red Fern Grows" a lovely little book, but not Shakespeare. Have you looked recently at the text books checked out to high school students? Why are we not paying attention to this chicanery? Is it because the testing they take says that they are gifted or average or special ed, and we have become so complacent that we allow the "experts" put our children into a box that will either give them a false sense of security or a self loathing that that get to live in for the rest of their lives. While some students may be lucky enough to find their niche (like music,sports,debate,drama etc) and have a teacher who expects more than fact regurgitation and high test scores, but actual self reliance, personal discovery and inventiveness, it saddens me to think how many never do.
I have always thought home-schoolers a little bit odd and stifling for keeping their kids out of "mainstream" education and not wanting them to grow up in the "real world". But after learning more about the travesty that is the history of the education system, and meditating on my own experiences both as a student and as a parent, I concede that compulsory education is far more likely to produce childish adults then independent learning. Maybe there should be a "home school appreciation week", however I think that they might be too sensible to go for it!
"In 1995 a student teacher of 5th graders in Minneapolis wrote a letter to the editor of the Star-Tribune complaining about radically dumbed down curriculum. She wrote that 113 years earlier 5th graders in Minneapolis were reading William Shakespeare, Henry Thoreau, George Washington, Sir Walter Scott, Mark Twain, Benjamin Franklin, Oliver Wendall Holmes, John Buynan, Daniel Webster, Samuel Johnson, Lewis Caroll, Thomas Jefferson, Emerson and others like them..."
While this week my own 5th grader complained about the snails pace at which her "gifted class" was reading the book "Where the Red Fern Grows" a lovely little book, but not Shakespeare. Have you looked recently at the text books checked out to high school students? Why are we not paying attention to this chicanery? Is it because the testing they take says that they are gifted or average or special ed, and we have become so complacent that we allow the "experts" put our children into a box that will either give them a false sense of security or a self loathing that that get to live in for the rest of their lives. While some students may be lucky enough to find their niche (like music,sports,debate,drama etc) and have a teacher who expects more than fact regurgitation and high test scores, but actual self reliance, personal discovery and inventiveness, it saddens me to think how many never do.
I have always thought home-schoolers a little bit odd and stifling for keeping their kids out of "mainstream" education and not wanting them to grow up in the "real world". But after learning more about the travesty that is the history of the education system, and meditating on my own experiences both as a student and as a parent, I concede that compulsory education is far more likely to produce childish adults then independent learning. Maybe there should be a "home school appreciation week", however I think that they might be too sensible to go for it!
July 3, 2009
I almost gave this just 2 stars. The author raises some good points, and I give him a full third star for clueing me in to the idea that 12-13 years of compulsory schooling is not the best use of our time, at least not the way we go about it. However, his arguments are anectdotal, he meanders all over the place, and has a few post hoc fallacies going, never mind the borderline conspiricy theories.
November 1, 2019
Nisam siguran šta treba da ocenim u ovoj knjizi?
Slažem se sa osnovnom tezom – obrazovanje nije školovanje. Osnovna funkcija školovanja nema veze sa sticanjem znanja, već ima veze sa kalupljenjem uma kod učenika, ubijanjem kreativnosti i slobodnog mišljenja, izrabljivanjem i održavanjem postojećeg društvenog stanja, obrazovanjem službenika i posluge, i što je najvažnije, stvaranjem lažne predstave o učenju kao nečemu što podrazumeva papagajsko ponavljanje nepovezanih podataka. To autor jasno dokazuje i slažem se sa njim sto posto.
Sa druge strane, krajnje je poražavajuće koliko je knjiga loše napisana. Hajde da zanemarim „školske” stvari (užasan stil, nedostatak rudimentarne kompozicije i sl), naposletku ovo jeste antiškolska knjiga, ali sve te poluinformacije, iskrivljene činjenice, podaci istrgnuti iz konteksta, loše vođeni argumenti i tropi klasične teorije zavere o svuda upetljanim Rokfelerovima, stvorile su utisak da čitam knjigu nekog ko je na nivou prosečnog gosta u emisiji kod Teše Tešanovića i Milomira Marića.
P.S. Krivo mi je što ovakvu knjigu nisam pročitao dok sam bio tinejdžer. Mogla je da mi otvori treće oko. Sada je kasno. Svoje sam u školama odslužio.
Slažem se sa osnovnom tezom – obrazovanje nije školovanje. Osnovna funkcija školovanja nema veze sa sticanjem znanja, već ima veze sa kalupljenjem uma kod učenika, ubijanjem kreativnosti i slobodnog mišljenja, izrabljivanjem i održavanjem postojećeg društvenog stanja, obrazovanjem službenika i posluge, i što je najvažnije, stvaranjem lažne predstave o učenju kao nečemu što podrazumeva papagajsko ponavljanje nepovezanih podataka. To autor jasno dokazuje i slažem se sa njim sto posto.
Sa druge strane, krajnje je poražavajuće koliko je knjiga loše napisana. Hajde da zanemarim „školske” stvari (užasan stil, nedostatak rudimentarne kompozicije i sl), naposletku ovo jeste antiškolska knjiga, ali sve te poluinformacije, iskrivljene činjenice, podaci istrgnuti iz konteksta, loše vođeni argumenti i tropi klasične teorije zavere o svuda upetljanim Rokfelerovima, stvorile su utisak da čitam knjigu nekog ko je na nivou prosečnog gosta u emisiji kod Teše Tešanovića i Milomira Marića.
P.S. Krivo mi je što ovakvu knjigu nisam pročitao dok sam bio tinejdžer. Mogla je da mi otvori treće oko. Sada je kasno. Svoje sam u školama odslužio.
July 27, 2012
If you always hated school growing up, this book articulates why. The purpose of compulsory school isn't to prepare you to enter the real world and make a living doing what you love. The purpose is to teach you compliance and get in the habit of doing mind numbing tasks you don't enjoy for eight hours a day.
"The possibility that dumb people don't exist in sufficient numbers to warrant the many careers devoted to tending them may seem incredible to you. Yet that is my proposition: mass dumbness first had to be imagined; it isn't real."
If you put fleas in a shallow container they jump out. But if you put a lid on the container for just a short time, they hit the lid trying to escape and learn quickly not to jump so high. They give up their quest for freedom. After the lid is removed, the fleas remain imprisoned by their own self-policing. So it is with life. Most of us let our own fears or the impositions of others imprison us in a world of low expectations.
"The possibility that dumb people don't exist in sufficient numbers to warrant the many careers devoted to tending them may seem incredible to you. Yet that is my proposition: mass dumbness first had to be imagined; it isn't real."
If you put fleas in a shallow container they jump out. But if you put a lid on the container for just a short time, they hit the lid trying to escape and learn quickly not to jump so high. They give up their quest for freedom. After the lid is removed, the fleas remain imprisoned by their own self-policing. So it is with life. Most of us let our own fears or the impositions of others imprison us in a world of low expectations.
January 13, 2011
I'm extremely sympathetic to the homeschooling/unschooling movement. It may be something my wife and I have an epic battle on when it's all said and done, but I get it - I see the inherent flaws in the current way we do schools, and I don't want my future spawn to be a part of it.
John Taylor Gatto, former teacher, gets it as well. As someone who was a teacher for 30 years, he possibly gets it better than most, and this book is his treatise against modern education and what needs to change about it. If you're at all involved/interested/knowledgeable about homeschooling/unschooling, this is not a lot of new stuff, but the vitriol and anger he has toward the system as well as the strong ideas he has in terms of fixing what is clearly a problem is worth noting.
The flaw in this book as written, however, is twofold. One, it spends much too much time on the problem and not nearly enough on the solution. Granted, the solution is self-evident in many ways, but a person who needs the problem spelled out to them is going to need the solution as well. Problematically, however, the solution is coming from someone who comes across as extremely radicalized (with merit). This is a message that needs to be heard, disseminated, implemented, but I'm not convinced this is necessarily the guy to do it.
It's worth reading. Either you'll hear what you recognize from someone with the experience to back it up, or you'll be exposed to a new idea that might have never crossed your mind. This should, however, result in being a starting point, not an ending point.
John Taylor Gatto, former teacher, gets it as well. As someone who was a teacher for 30 years, he possibly gets it better than most, and this book is his treatise against modern education and what needs to change about it. If you're at all involved/interested/knowledgeable about homeschooling/unschooling, this is not a lot of new stuff, but the vitriol and anger he has toward the system as well as the strong ideas he has in terms of fixing what is clearly a problem is worth noting.
The flaw in this book as written, however, is twofold. One, it spends much too much time on the problem and not nearly enough on the solution. Granted, the solution is self-evident in many ways, but a person who needs the problem spelled out to them is going to need the solution as well. Problematically, however, the solution is coming from someone who comes across as extremely radicalized (with merit). This is a message that needs to be heard, disseminated, implemented, but I'm not convinced this is necessarily the guy to do it.
It's worth reading. Either you'll hear what you recognize from someone with the experience to back it up, or you'll be exposed to a new idea that might have never crossed your mind. This should, however, result in being a starting point, not an ending point.
February 15, 2015
During my years as a student in the Romeo public school system, I always felt as if something was broken. I could never put my finger on it though as a student and product of the system. There were so many fractures within the student body based on appearance, grades, athletic ability, popularity, disciplinary action, etc. Also, it was "frowned upon" to mingle with those a grade or two younger than you and you were in danger if you tried to mingle upwards in grade and age. These are just to name a few of the dysfunctional components present in the system in which I grew up.
Then after graduating and heading off to college I quickly realized that little to nothing of what I learned or experienced in school was ever experienced again in my life. I spent time in college, 5 years in the Marine Corps, worked numerous jobs in different fields, and the culture and environment I experienced in school was never encountered again.
I quickly learned all that school had not taught me which was vitally important in the real world of adulthood. Things like personal financial management and avoiding indebtedness which is a HUGE burden around the necks of young people today who graduate from college with ridiculous loan amounts but not with a job capable of paying them off in any reasonable time-frame. I had not learned how to work effectively with people, be part of a team that is learning, growing together, and encouraging the best in each other even at our own personal expense and sacrifice. I also did not learn how to work hard and study well, knowing that if I acquired the information the night before a test I could do well enough to excel but not really learn anything long term or of real value. Also, most of the school faculty seemed detached and many disinterested in truly engaging my adolescent heart when I really could have used love and personal encouragement during some very confusing and difficult years. I could go on, but I think you get my point.
I had always wondered what that end game was for school, knowing that what was being produced did not seem like it was worth the time, money and effort being invested because most people hated, found meaningless, or felt their school experience a waste. Ferris Bueller said it best when talking about "licking his palms" and pretending to be sick says this, "It's a little childish and stupid...but then again, so is high school." Watching that 27 years ago, something within me said "YES!!! It is!!!"
John Gatto has put onto paper will documented proof and extensive research that the system I and so many felt was truly a waste on so many levels, was in fact designed to be. Wow!!! The system I grew up in in the 1980s was the byproduct of decisions made on the highest levels of government with billions of dollars of lobbyist money and was not being preserved by the self interest of companies, corporations, and institutions whose life depend on its existence as is and not on a system of true value and worth for the masses who have to grow up and live through it.
I LOVE Gatto's big picture overview of the corruption of compulsory schooling and his accusation and substantial proof of its insidious intentions. When reading about the true history of compulsory schooling, it makes complete sense. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book to anyone who has gone through the system or having to decide whether to send their own children through the system. In my opinion, parents need to raise our children with the "end objective in mind" and not simply act like sheep being herded and then encouraging our children to follow as little sheep themselves. Everyone must make their own decisions about schooling and I judge no one for the decisions they make concerning their family. But to do so...giving the best hours of a child's day in the most formative years of their life, over to this "system" and its "institutions", without investigating the obvious warning signs and dangers is a shame and cause of potential harm depending on how the dice roll for your child at his or her school, and all the unknown variables waiting for them there. I could say more, but I digress with my critique...
This book is a collection of excerpts from a much larger and more extensive book called "The Underground History of American Education" That resource is too much for many people so Gatto was wise to break it down into some introductory pieces as they are present in Weapons of Mass Instruction. This does make the book somewhat jumbled and without a clear stream of logic or thought. The editing of this book could have been improved upon and additional commentary could have been added to help connect the excerpts and chapters as they are included. Nonetheless, I am so thankful for this book and will take the time to read the larger and original work in the near future.
Then after graduating and heading off to college I quickly realized that little to nothing of what I learned or experienced in school was ever experienced again in my life. I spent time in college, 5 years in the Marine Corps, worked numerous jobs in different fields, and the culture and environment I experienced in school was never encountered again.
I quickly learned all that school had not taught me which was vitally important in the real world of adulthood. Things like personal financial management and avoiding indebtedness which is a HUGE burden around the necks of young people today who graduate from college with ridiculous loan amounts but not with a job capable of paying them off in any reasonable time-frame. I had not learned how to work effectively with people, be part of a team that is learning, growing together, and encouraging the best in each other even at our own personal expense and sacrifice. I also did not learn how to work hard and study well, knowing that if I acquired the information the night before a test I could do well enough to excel but not really learn anything long term or of real value. Also, most of the school faculty seemed detached and many disinterested in truly engaging my adolescent heart when I really could have used love and personal encouragement during some very confusing and difficult years. I could go on, but I think you get my point.
I had always wondered what that end game was for school, knowing that what was being produced did not seem like it was worth the time, money and effort being invested because most people hated, found meaningless, or felt their school experience a waste. Ferris Bueller said it best when talking about "licking his palms" and pretending to be sick says this, "It's a little childish and stupid...but then again, so is high school." Watching that 27 years ago, something within me said "YES!!! It is!!!"
John Gatto has put onto paper will documented proof and extensive research that the system I and so many felt was truly a waste on so many levels, was in fact designed to be. Wow!!! The system I grew up in in the 1980s was the byproduct of decisions made on the highest levels of government with billions of dollars of lobbyist money and was not being preserved by the self interest of companies, corporations, and institutions whose life depend on its existence as is and not on a system of true value and worth for the masses who have to grow up and live through it.
I LOVE Gatto's big picture overview of the corruption of compulsory schooling and his accusation and substantial proof of its insidious intentions. When reading about the true history of compulsory schooling, it makes complete sense. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book to anyone who has gone through the system or having to decide whether to send their own children through the system. In my opinion, parents need to raise our children with the "end objective in mind" and not simply act like sheep being herded and then encouraging our children to follow as little sheep themselves. Everyone must make their own decisions about schooling and I judge no one for the decisions they make concerning their family. But to do so...giving the best hours of a child's day in the most formative years of their life, over to this "system" and its "institutions", without investigating the obvious warning signs and dangers is a shame and cause of potential harm depending on how the dice roll for your child at his or her school, and all the unknown variables waiting for them there. I could say more, but I digress with my critique...
This book is a collection of excerpts from a much larger and more extensive book called "The Underground History of American Education" That resource is too much for many people so Gatto was wise to break it down into some introductory pieces as they are present in Weapons of Mass Instruction. This does make the book somewhat jumbled and without a clear stream of logic or thought. The editing of this book could have been improved upon and additional commentary could have been added to help connect the excerpts and chapters as they are included. Nonetheless, I am so thankful for this book and will take the time to read the larger and original work in the near future.
June 4, 2018
So, I started this book a couple years ago, and got about halfway through it. It's one of those books that you really need to focus on and commit some brainpower to, and life has gotten more and more busy for us, so I never got around to finishing it. I finally picked up the audiobook and listened to the whole thing starting back at the beginning.
If you've never heard of John Taylor Gatto, he's a former Teacher Of The Year, who quit and has spoken out against compulsory schooling since then. In this book he argues why compulsory schooling and many aspects of the school system we've been working with over the last hundred years, is more in the interest of special interest groups and not in the best interest of children. I found this book interesting for obvious reasons, since we are homeschooling and Gatto has an inside look at the public school system that I'll never have. His arguments in this book are really interesting and thought-provoking, and to me, convincing. I especially found it interesting how he connected many practices in the public school system, and even the system itself, to Marxist and Darwinian ideas.
He did take a couple shots at John Calvin and Calvinism - since I was listening to the audiobook and was admittedly slightly distracted, I was a little confused at what he was getting at, and I wanted to re-read his points to see what connections between the school system and Calvinism he was trying to make...but of course, I couldn't find my physical copy of the book to check. From what I remember, he was criticizing the idea that all people, including children, are basically evil (the doctrine of total depravity) and the idea of predestination by saying it influenced the system to apply those ideas by treating children harshly and directing people's work destinations after graduating from the public school system - like I said, I wish I could find my physical copy so I could quote his points and address them more thoroughly. I think I knew what he was trying to say, but I'm unsure about his assertion that those ideas affected the school system as it developed. And if they did affect the system just as he said, the way in which those doctrines were supposedly applied to the system wasn't even a right or biblical application of those doctrines. In my opinion, he didn't develop that point as well as he could have (if it even was a fair point, like I said, it felt underdeveloped), and he seemed to be working with rather a superficial understanding of those doctrines which he separated from the wider doctrines of Christianity, so I don't think he was necessarily presenting them accurately, and I couldn't take him totally seriously there.
However, the rest of the book, though a little meandering, was very interesting. He raised a lot of points about the public school system that I would never have thought about, and it made me consider how I could give my own kids a more rich experience as homeschoolers. I definitely recommend this one, whether you love it or hate it, it will get you thinking.
If you've never heard of John Taylor Gatto, he's a former Teacher Of The Year, who quit and has spoken out against compulsory schooling since then. In this book he argues why compulsory schooling and many aspects of the school system we've been working with over the last hundred years, is more in the interest of special interest groups and not in the best interest of children. I found this book interesting for obvious reasons, since we are homeschooling and Gatto has an inside look at the public school system that I'll never have. His arguments in this book are really interesting and thought-provoking, and to me, convincing. I especially found it interesting how he connected many practices in the public school system, and even the system itself, to Marxist and Darwinian ideas.
He did take a couple shots at John Calvin and Calvinism - since I was listening to the audiobook and was admittedly slightly distracted, I was a little confused at what he was getting at, and I wanted to re-read his points to see what connections between the school system and Calvinism he was trying to make...but of course, I couldn't find my physical copy of the book to check. From what I remember, he was criticizing the idea that all people, including children, are basically evil (the doctrine of total depravity) and the idea of predestination by saying it influenced the system to apply those ideas by treating children harshly and directing people's work destinations after graduating from the public school system - like I said, I wish I could find my physical copy so I could quote his points and address them more thoroughly. I think I knew what he was trying to say, but I'm unsure about his assertion that those ideas affected the school system as it developed. And if they did affect the system just as he said, the way in which those doctrines were supposedly applied to the system wasn't even a right or biblical application of those doctrines. In my opinion, he didn't develop that point as well as he could have (if it even was a fair point, like I said, it felt underdeveloped), and he seemed to be working with rather a superficial understanding of those doctrines which he separated from the wider doctrines of Christianity, so I don't think he was necessarily presenting them accurately, and I couldn't take him totally seriously there.
However, the rest of the book, though a little meandering, was very interesting. He raised a lot of points about the public school system that I would never have thought about, and it made me consider how I could give my own kids a more rich experience as homeschoolers. I definitely recommend this one, whether you love it or hate it, it will get you thinking.
September 20, 2019
Turkiyedeki zorunluğu eğitim, muhtemelen Amerika'dakinden de beterdir. İlkokulda içi boş bir müfredat, aynı şeylerin her sene tekrarı. Ortaokul, lise daha kötü. Nasil öğreneceğini, ne öğreneceğinin bilincine ulaşmanı kasti olarak engelleyerek, seni aptallaştıracak ezber yığınına boğan bir sistem.
Kitapta en çok ilgimi çeken şeylerden biri, eğitim sistemini de kapsayarak genel pedagojinin çocukluğu uzatıyor olmasına yaptığı vurguydu. Çocuklarımız özgürce çocukluklarını yaşasın, doya doya çocuk olsunlar diyoruz iyi niyetle. Ama bir türlü büyüyemiyorlar. Sorumluluk alamıyor, karar verme yetileri yok, gelecek tasavvurları yok. Zorunlu eğitim de çocuklara neyi, nereden öğreneceklerini dayatarak çocukluğun uzamasına katkı sağlıyor.
Test sistemi kötü, standart ve çoğu gerçekten de işe yaramayacak şeyleri ezberleterek yapılan sınavlar mesleki yeterlilik ölçmeye yaramıyor. Ama Türkiye şartlarında yapılan sözlü mülakatlarda görüyoruz ki, bu standart testler de olmasa, cebinde önemli kişilerin telefonu yoksa gençlerin "başarılı" görünmesini sağlayacak hiç bir şeyleri kalmayacak. Zaten kitapta da siyasi düzen istemedikçe eğitim reformu yapılması çok zor diyor. Siyasi düzen ise, tek tipleştirilmiş, sabit alışkanlıklar kazandırılmış, tahmin edilebilir ve güdülenebilir davranışlar gösteren, toplumsal rolleri belirlenip sınırlandırılmış, eleştirel düşünemeyen bir halk sağlayan eğitimi "gerçekten" islah etmek istemez.
Kitapta en çok ilgimi çeken şeylerden biri, eğitim sistemini de kapsayarak genel pedagojinin çocukluğu uzatıyor olmasına yaptığı vurguydu. Çocuklarımız özgürce çocukluklarını yaşasın, doya doya çocuk olsunlar diyoruz iyi niyetle. Ama bir türlü büyüyemiyorlar. Sorumluluk alamıyor, karar verme yetileri yok, gelecek tasavvurları yok. Zorunlu eğitim de çocuklara neyi, nereden öğreneceklerini dayatarak çocukluğun uzamasına katkı sağlıyor.
Test sistemi kötü, standart ve çoğu gerçekten de işe yaramayacak şeyleri ezberleterek yapılan sınavlar mesleki yeterlilik ölçmeye yaramıyor. Ama Türkiye şartlarında yapılan sözlü mülakatlarda görüyoruz ki, bu standart testler de olmasa, cebinde önemli kişilerin telefonu yoksa gençlerin "başarılı" görünmesini sağlayacak hiç bir şeyleri kalmayacak. Zaten kitapta da siyasi düzen istemedikçe eğitim reformu yapılması çok zor diyor. Siyasi düzen ise, tek tipleştirilmiş, sabit alışkanlıklar kazandırılmış, tahmin edilebilir ve güdülenebilir davranışlar gösteren, toplumsal rolleri belirlenip sınırlandırılmış, eleştirel düşünemeyen bir halk sağlayan eğitimi "gerçekten" islah etmek istemez.
May 11, 2017
This irresponsible author could successfully write for any fake news site because his misinformation game is strong. This book is riddled with made up alternative life stories for many of his examples. He has opinions such as:
"Our civil war changed everything for the worse. Forget the propaganda you heard in school, it had nothing to do with slavery"
I felt like I was watching an episode of ancient aliens with all his conspiracy theories. Its as if he decided to make up whatever he wanted to support whatever it is he wants to say. I really wanted to like this book because I believe the US schooling system definitely needs to be improved but this was a journey into the dark world of a bitter old former teachers psyche. He's clearly reminiscent of the days where governesses were a thing and life was simple with farms and artisan shops.
Shelved as 'dnf'
February 23, 2022DNF. 301 sayfalık kitabın 90 sayfasını okudum ve devam etmemeye karar verdim.
"Yüksek merkezileşmeye sahip kitlesel üretim ekonomileri, bireylerin zihinlerini sömürgeleştirip onları kitlesel zihinlere dönüştürmeden başarılı olamazlar. Bu dönüşüm ne kadar erken başlatılırsa o kadar iyidir."
Kendi de uzun yıllar boyunca eleştirdiği sistem içinde eğitmenlik yapmış olan yazar çok önemli bir konuyu çok taraflı bir şekilde inceliyor. Yazar, eğitime değil (bir mekanda kapatılmaya dayalı) okullarda verilen klasik eğitime karşı çıkıyor.
Fakat iç savaş öncesi Amerika övgüsü, uzatılmış çocukluk eleştirisi kapsamında erken evlilik anıştırması, Amerika'nın kölelik tarihinin neredeyse göz ardı edilmesi, kimi filozof ve bilim insanlarına yönelik derinleştirilmeyen eleştiriler, açık kaynaklı eğitim ile başarıya ulaşmış kişilere ilişkin verilen örneklerin çoğunluğunun erkek olması gibi hususlar yazarı ciddiye almayı güçleştiriyor.
Temel olarak kapitalizmin yarattığı tüketim toplumunu eleştirirken Marx'ın bu kadar göz ardı edilmesini doğru bulmuyorum. Hele ki güçlü ekonomik çıkar sahiplerinin insanları tasarlama niyetine vurgu yapılıyorsa. Yazarın Darwin takıntısı ayrı bir vaka. Okuduğum sayfalarda Darwin'in eserlerine karşı öne sürülen doğru düzgün bir argüman göremedim.
Çocukların pandemi sebebiyle evlerde hapsolduğu dönemde aile içi şiddete, cinsel ve fiziksel istismara daha çok maruz kaldığı, eğitimciler tarafından tespit edilemeyen vakalar nedeniyle resmi kayıtlara yansıyan olaylarda düşüş yaşandığı, okul sisteminden çıkan yüzbinlerce çocuğun akıbetinin ne olduğu bilinmediği bir durumda okulları yok edelim, açık eğitime dönelim çağrılarına oldukça ihtiyatlı yaklaşmakta yarar var.
Şunu da belirtmeden geçemeyeceğim; Amerika Birleşik Devletlerinin "özgürlükçü başlangıcının" övülmesi müthiş bir ironi. Amerika'nın nasıl bir sömürü sonucu kurulduğunu gayet iyi biliyoruz.
Emekli bir öğretmenin sisteme itirazlarını merak edenler okuyup faydalanabilir. Ben yazarın politik görüşlerini görmezden gelemiyorum ne yazık ki.
"Yüksek merkezileşmeye sahip kitlesel üretim ekonomileri, bireylerin zihinlerini sömürgeleştirip onları kitlesel zihinlere dönüştürmeden başarılı olamazlar. Bu dönüşüm ne kadar erken başlatılırsa o kadar iyidir."
Kendi de uzun yıllar boyunca eleştirdiği sistem içinde eğitmenlik yapmış olan yazar çok önemli bir konuyu çok taraflı bir şekilde inceliyor. Yazar, eğitime değil (bir mekanda kapatılmaya dayalı) okullarda verilen klasik eğitime karşı çıkıyor.
Fakat iç savaş öncesi Amerika övgüsü, uzatılmış çocukluk eleştirisi kapsamında erken evlilik anıştırması, Amerika'nın kölelik tarihinin neredeyse göz ardı edilmesi, kimi filozof ve bilim insanlarına yönelik derinleştirilmeyen eleştiriler, açık kaynaklı eğitim ile başarıya ulaşmış kişilere ilişkin verilen örneklerin çoğunluğunun erkek olması gibi hususlar yazarı ciddiye almayı güçleştiriyor.
Temel olarak kapitalizmin yarattığı tüketim toplumunu eleştirirken Marx'ın bu kadar göz ardı edilmesini doğru bulmuyorum. Hele ki güçlü ekonomik çıkar sahiplerinin insanları tasarlama niyetine vurgu yapılıyorsa. Yazarın Darwin takıntısı ayrı bir vaka. Okuduğum sayfalarda Darwin'in eserlerine karşı öne sürülen doğru düzgün bir argüman göremedim.
Çocukların pandemi sebebiyle evlerde hapsolduğu dönemde aile içi şiddete, cinsel ve fiziksel istismara daha çok maruz kaldığı, eğitimciler tarafından tespit edilemeyen vakalar nedeniyle resmi kayıtlara yansıyan olaylarda düşüş yaşandığı, okul sisteminden çıkan yüzbinlerce çocuğun akıbetinin ne olduğu bilinmediği bir durumda okulları yok edelim, açık eğitime dönelim çağrılarına oldukça ihtiyatlı yaklaşmakta yarar var.
Şunu da belirtmeden geçemeyeceğim; Amerika Birleşik Devletlerinin "özgürlükçü başlangıcının" övülmesi müthiş bir ironi. Amerika'nın nasıl bir sömürü sonucu kurulduğunu gayet iyi biliyoruz.
Emekli bir öğretmenin sisteme itirazlarını merak edenler okuyup faydalanabilir. Ben yazarın politik görüşlerini görmezden gelemiyorum ne yazık ki.
August 20, 2009
Undoubtedly Gatto's best work thus far! PREPARE TO CHANGE YOUR PARADIGM. This book is an excellent treatise on why our schools just keep getting worse, no matter how much money we spend, and what they need for TRUE reform (you'll be surprised by his answer!). Learn about the roots of our public education system (this might shock you, too!). He also explains the difference between education and schooling. This book is NOT for the closed-minded.
Weapons of Mass Instruction is hard-hitting and doesn't mince any words. It takes great courage to speak out as Gatto does. I firmly believe that anyone involved in the public education system should read this book. Anyone who pays taxes should read this book. Anyone who has children should read this book. Anyone who still believes in real freedom should read this book. Okay - EVERYONE should read this book!!!
Note to my religious friends: Gatto seems to come from an amoral, areligious perspective and his focus is on freedom, no matter what a person's persuasion. Please keep this in mind as you read about activities he condones which we would not. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. :)
Weapons of Mass Instruction is hard-hitting and doesn't mince any words. It takes great courage to speak out as Gatto does. I firmly believe that anyone involved in the public education system should read this book. Anyone who pays taxes should read this book. Anyone who has children should read this book. Anyone who still believes in real freedom should read this book. Okay - EVERYONE should read this book!!!
Note to my religious friends: Gatto seems to come from an amoral, areligious perspective and his focus is on freedom, no matter what a person's persuasion. Please keep this in mind as you read about activities he condones which we would not. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. :)
December 16, 2011
An infuriating book… …not that there is no truth to be culled from it; rather, the author, Mr. John Taylor Gatto is on target with most of his rant. But within his harsh condemnatory words of the U.S. education system is a lack of imagination, at least at a macro level.
After purchasing, I discovered a great bit of this material is already accessible on Gatto's website -- The Underground History of American Education, and this newer published installment just a culling and rehashing of the same spiel Gatto has been emitting over the course of the past two decades, after his accolades for winning New York City "Teacher of the Year".
I believe most passionate teachers who've toiled in the public education system could echo Gatto. And I am mostly in agreement with Gatto about the diagnosis, but his prescription, IMV, is far off the rocker. I cannot envision how extrapolating a one-on-one style of instruction to mass education and rolling back "compulsory education" could be a net plus in the aggregate. It would restore a condition of a time when only the affluent could attain an education (a fact Gatto conveniently omits from his rants and anecdotes about the founders or other exceptional individual anomalies). Instead, I wish Gatto would apply that same sort of passion, vigor and energy to reforming the present system, be it top-down or bottom-up (as his career experience vividly illustrates).
After purchasing, I discovered a great bit of this material is already accessible on Gatto's website -- The Underground History of American Education, and this newer published installment just a culling and rehashing of the same spiel Gatto has been emitting over the course of the past two decades, after his accolades for winning New York City "Teacher of the Year".
I believe most passionate teachers who've toiled in the public education system could echo Gatto. And I am mostly in agreement with Gatto about the diagnosis, but his prescription, IMV, is far off the rocker. I cannot envision how extrapolating a one-on-one style of instruction to mass education and rolling back "compulsory education" could be a net plus in the aggregate. It would restore a condition of a time when only the affluent could attain an education (a fact Gatto conveniently omits from his rants and anecdotes about the founders or other exceptional individual anomalies). Instead, I wish Gatto would apply that same sort of passion, vigor and energy to reforming the present system, be it top-down or bottom-up (as his career experience vividly illustrates).
August 7, 2009
Much better than "Dumbing Us Down," this book rationally lays out a case against public schools and some amazing things done by some famous/accomplished drop-outs. While those annecdotes are powerful in their own right, they ignore the larger issue of what happens to 90% of the rest of the public school dropouts. In that sense, while I believe his years of experience and other school visits add a lot of validity to his criticisms of the current state of affairs, I cannot go along with his call to abolish the system as a whole, an start up again with a privatized system.
First - although there are many who would benefit from a lack of "imprisonment" in the public schools, there many many more who would suffer the lack of a sanctuary from their home life.
Second - his own examples of problems observed at private schools sort of shoot the idea of privatizing in the foot. Also, he decries competition and ranking in school, but then advocates fr private schools that compete against each other - doesn't that just lead to the same competition and ranking of students?
But overall, a decent and thought provoking read.
First - although there are many who would benefit from a lack of "imprisonment" in the public schools, there many many more who would suffer the lack of a sanctuary from their home life.
Second - his own examples of problems observed at private schools sort of shoot the idea of privatizing in the foot. Also, he decries competition and ranking in school, but then advocates fr private schools that compete against each other - doesn't that just lead to the same competition and ranking of students?
But overall, a decent and thought provoking read.
September 2, 2018
Very thought provoking, though not surprising. I have always felt that my own education did not truly begin until after I had left school for good, and Mr Gatto puts a finger on exactly why that has been the case. I love the distinction he makes between education and schooling - it's a very useful distinction.
October 22, 2013
"There were vast fortunes to be made, after all, in an economy based on mass production and organized to favor the large corporation rather than the small business or the family farm. But mass production required mass consumption, and at the turn of the twentieth century most Americans considered it both unnatural and unwise to buy things they didn't actually need. Mandatory schooling was a godsend on that count. School didn't have to train kids in any direct sense to think they should consume nonstop, because it did something even better: it encouraged them not to think at all." (p.xx)
"I've concluded that genius is as common as dirt. We suppress genius because we haven't yet figured out how to manage a population of educated men and women. The solution, I think, is simple and glorious. Let them manage themselves." (p.xxiii)
"The great purpose of school [self-alienation] can be realized better in dark, airless, ugly places....It is to master the physical self, to transcend the beauty of nature. School should develop the power to withdraw from the external world. [The Philosophy of Education, 1906]" (p.13)
"When you flip hamburgers, sit at a computer all day, unpack and shelve merchandise from China year after year, you manage the tedium better if you have a shallow inner life, one you can escape through booze, drugs, sex, media, or other low level addictive behaviors. Easier to keep same if your inner life is shallow. School, though Harris the great American schoolman, should prepare ordinary men and women for lifetimes of alienation. Can you say he wasn't fully rational?" (p.14)
"In every age, men of wealth and power have approached education for ordinary people with suspicion because it is certain to stimulate discontent, certain to awaken desires impossible to gratify." (p.15)
"Twelve to twenty years of stupefying memorization drills weakens the hardiest intellects." (p.17)
"We want one class to have a liberal education. We want another class, a very much larger class of necessity, to forgo the privilege of a liberal education and fit themselves to perform specific difficult manual tasks. [Woodrow Wilson, in 1909 to an audience of businessmen in New York City.]" (p.23)
"...in open source, teaching is a function. Not a profession. Anyone with something to offer can teach. The student determines who is or is not a teacher, not the government. In open source, you don't need a licence to teach any more than Socrates did. Right there you can feel how different the basic assumptions of open source are. No student faces failure for deciding not to learn from you." (p.31)
"Degrees should never stand as proxies for education." (p.35)
"You're on the road to being educated when you know yourself so thoroughly you write your own script instead of taking a part written by others." (p.36)
"Childish people are not only obedient (if we discount their occasional tantrums), but they make the best consumers because they have little natural sales resistance." (p.41)
"The trouble with open source learning, as far as policymakers are concerned, is that it almost guarantees an independent mind will develop- not a cosmetic simulation of those things, which schooling cultivates. Even worse, taking charge of mixing your own education leads to a healthy self-regard – and confident folks are considerably less manageable than anxious ones." (p.42)
"...the enormous American military has not, for a very long time, been primarily about protecting common American citizens from harm. It exists for several never-discussed reasons: to provide employment for the underclasses; to avoid uprisings at home; to act as a centrifuge in distributing wealth through contracts back to the managers of the system and their allies; and it exists, in the gravest extreme to “go domestic”..."(p.43)
"The collective rituals of lower grades are about habit training, about practicing attention and fealty to authority. In this way, independent consciousness can be undermined in its formative stages." (p.43)
"Complex minds are always dialectical." (p.43)
"...imaginative individuals are notoriously unmanageable and unpredictable, because they are irrepressibly inventive." (p.47)
"What American has to show for 50 years of continuous warfare against weak, stone-age opponents, is this: besides crippling our future with a reckless expenditure of capitol on products which produce nothing, like weaponry, and destroy themselves in use, we have notified every corner of the world that our overwhelming military isn't overwhelming at all and can be beaten by ordinary people of courage, with primitive military hardware, who refuse to be intimidated." (p.57)
"Formulaic schooling is worthless to common citizens, even destructive. It's only useful to policymakers and managers. It must be killed, not modified." (p.57)
"Real education can only begin out of a foundation of self-awareness. Know the truth of yourself or you are nothing but a pathetic human resource. Your life will have missed it's point." (p.60)
"Education must be largely self-initiated, a tapestry woven out of broad experience, constant introspection, ability to concentrate on one's purpose in spite of distractions, a combination of curiosity, patience, and intense watchfulness, and it requires substantial trial and error risk-taking, along with a considerable ability to take feedback from the environment -to learn from mistakes." (p.62)
"School is the first impression we get of organized society and its relentless need to rank everyone on a scale of winners and losers." (p.63)
"Dumb people are no longer merely ignorant. Now they are dangerous imbeciles whose minds must be conditioned with substantial doses of commercially prepared disinformation for tranquilizing purposes." (p.86)
"Important people believe, with the fervor of religious zealots, that civilization can survive only if the irrational, unpredictable impulses of human nature are continually beaten back and confined until their demonic vitality is sapped." (p. 89)
"The principal reason bureaucracies are so stupid is that they cannot respond efficiently to feedback." (p.92)
"People become dangerous when too many see through the illusions which hold society together." (p.107)
"...it's the widespread understanding among the young that school isn't about them (and their interests, curiosities and futures), but exclusively about the wishes of other people. School is built around the self- interest of others. (p.110)
Thanks to the vast new ball of connections, official truth in every conceivable area is subject to verification by a promiscuous collection of uncertified critics armed with the tools to back up their contrarian critiques.
Thanks to the Internet, the concept of mass schooling by experts is nearly exhausted." (p.113)
"But if life were found to be inherently better where cooperation rules, as Wallace said, the priviledged world would turn upside down."(p.116)
"...when competition is seen as essential to a good life, when winning against one's neighbors is put at the heart of society, business thrives. To win, others have to lose: the more losers, the better winning feels." (p.116)
"Educated people, or people with principles, represent rogue elements in a scheme of scientific management; the former suspect because they have been trained to argue effectively and to think for themselves, the latter too inflexible in any area touching their morality to remain reliably dependent. At any moment they may announce, 'This is wrong. I won't do it'. Overly creative people have similar deficiencies from a systems point of view." (p.126)
"The logic of collectivization seeks to disconnect each child from his or her own unique constellation, particular circumstances, traditions, aspirations, past experiences, families, and to treat each as the representative of a type." (p.129)
"Most of all, the educated mind is connected to itself. There is not a major philosopher of Western history since Socrates who didn't discover that knowing yourself is the foundation of everything else." (p.130)
"Even at seven don't rush to edit the truth out of things. If the family has an income kids need to know to the penny what it is and how it's spent. Assume they are human beings with the same basic nature and aptitudes that you have; what you have superior in terms of experience and mature understanding should be exchanged for their natural resilience, quick intelligence, imagination, fresh insight, and eagerness to become self-directing.
Don't buy into the calculated illusion of extended childhood." (p.137)
"Most of us let our own fears or the impositions of others imprison us in a world of low expectations." (p.141)
"The biggest danger to the social order comes from those who retreat into the secret recesses of their inner lives where no snoop can penetrate." (p.141)
"...hard reading has been discouraged in the schools; if you read too much the official stories wear thin and blow away like smoke." (p.166)
"Refusing to allow yourself to be regarded as a 'human resource' is more revolutionary than any revolution on record." (p.204)
"College is a business before it's anything else; already a business starving for customers." (p.205)
"I've concluded that genius is as common as dirt. We suppress genius because we haven't yet figured out how to manage a population of educated men and women. The solution, I think, is simple and glorious. Let them manage themselves." (p.xxiii)
"The great purpose of school [self-alienation] can be realized better in dark, airless, ugly places....It is to master the physical self, to transcend the beauty of nature. School should develop the power to withdraw from the external world. [The Philosophy of Education, 1906]" (p.13)
"When you flip hamburgers, sit at a computer all day, unpack and shelve merchandise from China year after year, you manage the tedium better if you have a shallow inner life, one you can escape through booze, drugs, sex, media, or other low level addictive behaviors. Easier to keep same if your inner life is shallow. School, though Harris the great American schoolman, should prepare ordinary men and women for lifetimes of alienation. Can you say he wasn't fully rational?" (p.14)
"In every age, men of wealth and power have approached education for ordinary people with suspicion because it is certain to stimulate discontent, certain to awaken desires impossible to gratify." (p.15)
"Twelve to twenty years of stupefying memorization drills weakens the hardiest intellects." (p.17)
"We want one class to have a liberal education. We want another class, a very much larger class of necessity, to forgo the privilege of a liberal education and fit themselves to perform specific difficult manual tasks. [Woodrow Wilson, in 1909 to an audience of businessmen in New York City.]" (p.23)
"...in open source, teaching is a function. Not a profession. Anyone with something to offer can teach. The student determines who is or is not a teacher, not the government. In open source, you don't need a licence to teach any more than Socrates did. Right there you can feel how different the basic assumptions of open source are. No student faces failure for deciding not to learn from you." (p.31)
"Degrees should never stand as proxies for education." (p.35)
"You're on the road to being educated when you know yourself so thoroughly you write your own script instead of taking a part written by others." (p.36)
"Childish people are not only obedient (if we discount their occasional tantrums), but they make the best consumers because they have little natural sales resistance." (p.41)
"The trouble with open source learning, as far as policymakers are concerned, is that it almost guarantees an independent mind will develop- not a cosmetic simulation of those things, which schooling cultivates. Even worse, taking charge of mixing your own education leads to a healthy self-regard – and confident folks are considerably less manageable than anxious ones." (p.42)
"...the enormous American military has not, for a very long time, been primarily about protecting common American citizens from harm. It exists for several never-discussed reasons: to provide employment for the underclasses; to avoid uprisings at home; to act as a centrifuge in distributing wealth through contracts back to the managers of the system and their allies; and it exists, in the gravest extreme to “go domestic”..."(p.43)
"The collective rituals of lower grades are about habit training, about practicing attention and fealty to authority. In this way, independent consciousness can be undermined in its formative stages." (p.43)
"Complex minds are always dialectical." (p.43)
"...imaginative individuals are notoriously unmanageable and unpredictable, because they are irrepressibly inventive." (p.47)
"What American has to show for 50 years of continuous warfare against weak, stone-age opponents, is this: besides crippling our future with a reckless expenditure of capitol on products which produce nothing, like weaponry, and destroy themselves in use, we have notified every corner of the world that our overwhelming military isn't overwhelming at all and can be beaten by ordinary people of courage, with primitive military hardware, who refuse to be intimidated." (p.57)
"Formulaic schooling is worthless to common citizens, even destructive. It's only useful to policymakers and managers. It must be killed, not modified." (p.57)
"Real education can only begin out of a foundation of self-awareness. Know the truth of yourself or you are nothing but a pathetic human resource. Your life will have missed it's point." (p.60)
"Education must be largely self-initiated, a tapestry woven out of broad experience, constant introspection, ability to concentrate on one's purpose in spite of distractions, a combination of curiosity, patience, and intense watchfulness, and it requires substantial trial and error risk-taking, along with a considerable ability to take feedback from the environment -to learn from mistakes." (p.62)
"School is the first impression we get of organized society and its relentless need to rank everyone on a scale of winners and losers." (p.63)
"Dumb people are no longer merely ignorant. Now they are dangerous imbeciles whose minds must be conditioned with substantial doses of commercially prepared disinformation for tranquilizing purposes." (p.86)
"Important people believe, with the fervor of religious zealots, that civilization can survive only if the irrational, unpredictable impulses of human nature are continually beaten back and confined until their demonic vitality is sapped." (p. 89)
"The principal reason bureaucracies are so stupid is that they cannot respond efficiently to feedback." (p.92)
"People become dangerous when too many see through the illusions which hold society together." (p.107)
"...it's the widespread understanding among the young that school isn't about them (and their interests, curiosities and futures), but exclusively about the wishes of other people. School is built around the self- interest of others. (p.110)
Thanks to the vast new ball of connections, official truth in every conceivable area is subject to verification by a promiscuous collection of uncertified critics armed with the tools to back up their contrarian critiques.
Thanks to the Internet, the concept of mass schooling by experts is nearly exhausted." (p.113)
"But if life were found to be inherently better where cooperation rules, as Wallace said, the priviledged world would turn upside down."(p.116)
"...when competition is seen as essential to a good life, when winning against one's neighbors is put at the heart of society, business thrives. To win, others have to lose: the more losers, the better winning feels." (p.116)
"Educated people, or people with principles, represent rogue elements in a scheme of scientific management; the former suspect because they have been trained to argue effectively and to think for themselves, the latter too inflexible in any area touching their morality to remain reliably dependent. At any moment they may announce, 'This is wrong. I won't do it'. Overly creative people have similar deficiencies from a systems point of view." (p.126)
"The logic of collectivization seeks to disconnect each child from his or her own unique constellation, particular circumstances, traditions, aspirations, past experiences, families, and to treat each as the representative of a type." (p.129)
"Most of all, the educated mind is connected to itself. There is not a major philosopher of Western history since Socrates who didn't discover that knowing yourself is the foundation of everything else." (p.130)
"Even at seven don't rush to edit the truth out of things. If the family has an income kids need to know to the penny what it is and how it's spent. Assume they are human beings with the same basic nature and aptitudes that you have; what you have superior in terms of experience and mature understanding should be exchanged for their natural resilience, quick intelligence, imagination, fresh insight, and eagerness to become self-directing.
Don't buy into the calculated illusion of extended childhood." (p.137)
"Most of us let our own fears or the impositions of others imprison us in a world of low expectations." (p.141)
"The biggest danger to the social order comes from those who retreat into the secret recesses of their inner lives where no snoop can penetrate." (p.141)
"...hard reading has been discouraged in the schools; if you read too much the official stories wear thin and blow away like smoke." (p.166)
"Refusing to allow yourself to be regarded as a 'human resource' is more revolutionary than any revolution on record." (p.204)
"College is a business before it's anything else; already a business starving for customers." (p.205)
September 10, 2022
Meandering review but I’m not editing it coz I’m hungover:
Critique of the institution of compulsory schooling from a humanist/libertarian angle. Some overlap with Ivan Ilich’s Deschooling Society, but this one has a bit more of a polemic cantankerous old man feel to it which was entertaining. Gatto draws on his 30 years of experience in New York public schools and research into the history of compulsory schooling in America to argue that schooling is inimical to becoming an independent and educated person. Pretty provocative argument which may repel some readers, but he makes a compelling case. Education pre-compulsory schooling was largely self-driven, interdisciplinary and informed by real world experience in business, industry, politics, journalism, or what have you - action was education, as well as whatever else you wanted to study on your own volition. The result, according to Gatto, was a wellspring of independent, creative and practical people who provided the innovative, enterprising spirit that animated American excellence til the early 20th century. The intellectuals, politicians and businessmen who argued for compulsory schooling at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries did so explicitly on the grounds of indoctrinating the mass of society to accept their position as industrial fodder, and to insulate the elite from a literate population that might threaten their status on the social hierarchy. The result of the introduction and expansion of compulsory schooling saw a decline in the adult male literacy rate from the 30s to the 50s, and a gradual decline in educational standards.
You might argue here that the ends of schooling have changed since that time, but Gatto argues things aren’t much different today - if anything the institution of schooling has continually expanded with exponential budget growth and no noticeable impact on the education of the average American, if we take education to mean the cultivation of active, striving critical thinkers instead of passive recipients of instructions. Echoes of Freire here. The institution of schooling has become all encompassing to the point that we can’t fathom a world without it, but powerful institutions are geared toward their own ends, not human ends (Pynchon anyone?). In his own experience as a teacher in one of the poorest school districts in New York, Gatto only saw success by completely circumventing any and all instruction from above of what to teach and how to teach it. He sent kids off into the world to investigate things on their own: want to know about the law? Go visit a police station, visit a courthouse, visit a law office. Write down what you learnt and bring it back so we can build on it and set you out again to discover more. With an in-the-world educational approach students not only learn about subjects in detail, but also develop a sense of initiative and stoke their curiosity to find things out by themselves. Gatto suggests the only way to solve this problem is to completely undermine the institution of compulsory schooling: refuse to take standardised tests, refuse even to attend school, put your kids into homeschooling where you can personally cultivate the skills and attributes they need. If it worked for over a hundred years of American growth and prosperity then it can work again, or so the argument goes.
I agree with his critique on a human level, and from personal experience I completely agree with the argument that the institution of schooling doesn’t actually care about individual human ends. Speak to an experienced teacher if you don’t believe me on that. But there are some things I disagree with here. Gatto argues that the expansion of schooling fuelled the destruction of local communities that have meaning and connection to people - no longer in the embrace of the family, the church, the neighbourhood, etc, schools have taken their place as educator, meaning-provider, counsellor, and in the process have created isolated and atomised individuals (See Lasch’s Culture of Narcissism for another treatment of this). He points out much of the early adoption and expansion of compulsory schooling was prompted by the expansion of an industrial capitalist economy, but I’m not so sure about the causation here of schooling > collapse of community > atomisation. I believe schooling was a cause among many, as well as a symptom among many, of the great communal evaporation we call modernity. Is this a result of capitalism? A result of liberalism? A result of technological expansion? Can we even meaningfully seperate these phenomena? I don’t know, and I admire that Gatto has the confidence to stake a firm claim here, but I wasn’t convinced by that part. He has a tendency to collapse all phenomena into his own bugbear, and legitimate a bugbear as that may be, it limits the horizons of his thought and analysis. That being said, I don’t know how to square my agreement with his critique with my opinion that our institutions are here to stay until something seriously goes wrong on a societal level to shake things up. I suppose the best I can do is to work between the cracks of the institution to be the kind of teacher who really does try to cultivate active, critical and independent young people.
Critique of the institution of compulsory schooling from a humanist/libertarian angle. Some overlap with Ivan Ilich’s Deschooling Society, but this one has a bit more of a polemic cantankerous old man feel to it which was entertaining. Gatto draws on his 30 years of experience in New York public schools and research into the history of compulsory schooling in America to argue that schooling is inimical to becoming an independent and educated person. Pretty provocative argument which may repel some readers, but he makes a compelling case. Education pre-compulsory schooling was largely self-driven, interdisciplinary and informed by real world experience in business, industry, politics, journalism, or what have you - action was education, as well as whatever else you wanted to study on your own volition. The result, according to Gatto, was a wellspring of independent, creative and practical people who provided the innovative, enterprising spirit that animated American excellence til the early 20th century. The intellectuals, politicians and businessmen who argued for compulsory schooling at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries did so explicitly on the grounds of indoctrinating the mass of society to accept their position as industrial fodder, and to insulate the elite from a literate population that might threaten their status on the social hierarchy. The result of the introduction and expansion of compulsory schooling saw a decline in the adult male literacy rate from the 30s to the 50s, and a gradual decline in educational standards.
You might argue here that the ends of schooling have changed since that time, but Gatto argues things aren’t much different today - if anything the institution of schooling has continually expanded with exponential budget growth and no noticeable impact on the education of the average American, if we take education to mean the cultivation of active, striving critical thinkers instead of passive recipients of instructions. Echoes of Freire here. The institution of schooling has become all encompassing to the point that we can’t fathom a world without it, but powerful institutions are geared toward their own ends, not human ends (Pynchon anyone?). In his own experience as a teacher in one of the poorest school districts in New York, Gatto only saw success by completely circumventing any and all instruction from above of what to teach and how to teach it. He sent kids off into the world to investigate things on their own: want to know about the law? Go visit a police station, visit a courthouse, visit a law office. Write down what you learnt and bring it back so we can build on it and set you out again to discover more. With an in-the-world educational approach students not only learn about subjects in detail, but also develop a sense of initiative and stoke their curiosity to find things out by themselves. Gatto suggests the only way to solve this problem is to completely undermine the institution of compulsory schooling: refuse to take standardised tests, refuse even to attend school, put your kids into homeschooling where you can personally cultivate the skills and attributes they need. If it worked for over a hundred years of American growth and prosperity then it can work again, or so the argument goes.
I agree with his critique on a human level, and from personal experience I completely agree with the argument that the institution of schooling doesn’t actually care about individual human ends. Speak to an experienced teacher if you don’t believe me on that. But there are some things I disagree with here. Gatto argues that the expansion of schooling fuelled the destruction of local communities that have meaning and connection to people - no longer in the embrace of the family, the church, the neighbourhood, etc, schools have taken their place as educator, meaning-provider, counsellor, and in the process have created isolated and atomised individuals (See Lasch’s Culture of Narcissism for another treatment of this). He points out much of the early adoption and expansion of compulsory schooling was prompted by the expansion of an industrial capitalist economy, but I’m not so sure about the causation here of schooling > collapse of community > atomisation. I believe schooling was a cause among many, as well as a symptom among many, of the great communal evaporation we call modernity. Is this a result of capitalism? A result of liberalism? A result of technological expansion? Can we even meaningfully seperate these phenomena? I don’t know, and I admire that Gatto has the confidence to stake a firm claim here, but I wasn’t convinced by that part. He has a tendency to collapse all phenomena into his own bugbear, and legitimate a bugbear as that may be, it limits the horizons of his thought and analysis. That being said, I don’t know how to square my agreement with his critique with my opinion that our institutions are here to stay until something seriously goes wrong on a societal level to shake things up. I suppose the best I can do is to work between the cracks of the institution to be the kind of teacher who really does try to cultivate active, critical and independent young people.
February 18, 2014
America’s Educational System
The problem with America is in her educational system. Until this is addressed the rest will not be solved. John Gatto's book is a good place to start. The following is what I gleaned from the book along with some of my own thoughts that were stimulated from the reading.
At the beginning of compulsory education (1920s) there were some 135,000 independent school boards representing the people of those districts. America was the freest, most literate, and most classless society on earth. Individuals and churches took a much more active role; morality was respected, divorce rates were low and the majority of families were intact. People were still aware of the founding of our Republic and still held to those ideals. People could sit still and listen to reasoned arguments.
After consolidation and compulsory laws there were only 15,000 school boards which were more and more controlled by outside forces. Department of Educations burgeoned, teachers unions dominated. Children were to be human resources to be spent by corporations and politicians. They were taught to memorize the dots but never given the tools to connect the dots. Gifted children were allowed to connect the dots but only in the approved way. Discipline in schools broke down as the teachers’ hands became tied down from using the time tested and ad hoc methods of the past. Churches were silenced using tax rules (501c3). Individuals and families were assaulted with politically motivated pseudoscience; divorce rates soared, families broke apart. Emotions ruled reason.
People were taught that we were now a democracy. Men, then women, were sent off to make the world safe for democracy in WW1 and continue do the same mindless thing. The original ideas of the founders were turned on their heads. Traditional American words took on new meaning; freedom was now licentiousness, equality now had to do with everyone having the same income, justice was reduced to a rich-poor class war. Rights were extended from traditional God-given rights to whatever a so-called aggrieved group wanted. People were broken up into groups: black, white, male, female, rich, poor, left, right, conservative, liberal. The people became useful idiots building an impersonal society made up of faceless bureaucrats; voting for their own servitude.
The Presidency became a Prime Minister-ship with quasi legislative powers. The president was now the king of the world. First radio and then TV became a tool to indoctrinate the masses. Now, TV blasts us 24 hours a day with nothing but a Hobson choice between two establishment anointed Presidential candidates that have been craftily placed there by the manipulation of people’s emotions using Madison Avenue marketing techniques. In a more candid time we would denounce most of this as mere lies but we are more sophisticated now, and brush it off as spin but still fall for it.
“The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.” Quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln.
“Improve America’s Schools- Get Government out!”
The problem with America is in her educational system. Until this is addressed the rest will not be solved. John Gatto's book is a good place to start. The following is what I gleaned from the book along with some of my own thoughts that were stimulated from the reading.
At the beginning of compulsory education (1920s) there were some 135,000 independent school boards representing the people of those districts. America was the freest, most literate, and most classless society on earth. Individuals and churches took a much more active role; morality was respected, divorce rates were low and the majority of families were intact. People were still aware of the founding of our Republic and still held to those ideals. People could sit still and listen to reasoned arguments.
After consolidation and compulsory laws there were only 15,000 school boards which were more and more controlled by outside forces. Department of Educations burgeoned, teachers unions dominated. Children were to be human resources to be spent by corporations and politicians. They were taught to memorize the dots but never given the tools to connect the dots. Gifted children were allowed to connect the dots but only in the approved way. Discipline in schools broke down as the teachers’ hands became tied down from using the time tested and ad hoc methods of the past. Churches were silenced using tax rules (501c3). Individuals and families were assaulted with politically motivated pseudoscience; divorce rates soared, families broke apart. Emotions ruled reason.
People were taught that we were now a democracy. Men, then women, were sent off to make the world safe for democracy in WW1 and continue do the same mindless thing. The original ideas of the founders were turned on their heads. Traditional American words took on new meaning; freedom was now licentiousness, equality now had to do with everyone having the same income, justice was reduced to a rich-poor class war. Rights were extended from traditional God-given rights to whatever a so-called aggrieved group wanted. People were broken up into groups: black, white, male, female, rich, poor, left, right, conservative, liberal. The people became useful idiots building an impersonal society made up of faceless bureaucrats; voting for their own servitude.
The Presidency became a Prime Minister-ship with quasi legislative powers. The president was now the king of the world. First radio and then TV became a tool to indoctrinate the masses. Now, TV blasts us 24 hours a day with nothing but a Hobson choice between two establishment anointed Presidential candidates that have been craftily placed there by the manipulation of people’s emotions using Madison Avenue marketing techniques. In a more candid time we would denounce most of this as mere lies but we are more sophisticated now, and brush it off as spin but still fall for it.
“The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.” Quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln.
“Improve America’s Schools- Get Government out!”
September 9, 2016
So much insight that takes us straight down the road of education: Benjamin Bloom was an academic madman who classified people into categories, all the classifications that are "sacred myths" created by the imagination, school breeds dependence and lack of original thinking, TV is destructive, and on. So I don't think how twelve year olds behaved 200 years ago has relevance today because our world has changed so drastically and for every one person he points out that didn't need education and went on to become something there are a million who struggle in life. But there are still so many monumental points in this book about the way we school children. The more books I read by Gatto, the more I feel sorry for his situation and for teachers in general. He is a classic case study of a teacher used up in the system. But to close on a positive note, the highlight of this book was when Gatto argued "challenge your kids with plenty of solitude so that they can learn to enjoy their own company, to conduct inner dialogue. Well schooled people are conditioned to dread being alone; they seek constant companionship through the TV, the computer, the cell pone, and through shallow friendships quickly acquired, and quickly abandoned" (p. xxii, 2009). That's a five star passage on its own.
May 16, 2020
This book makes you think why schooling is not education and why it needs abandonment.
We need to know the history of schools before happily abandoning the system.
The very first schools were created by Prussiun Empires to create a population of citizens that doesn’t ask questions. Because it is much easier to rule over a bunch of dummies. Other countries looked at this interesting system that ensured unquestionable power to Prussians.
The politicians started recreating it in their own countries. The real motive behind schools was kept a secret from general public.
Soon the successful model piqued interest of capitalists too. The capitalists, NGOs and industrialists started investing big money in the promotion of schooling. There only agenda was to create a population of MINDLESS CONSUMERS.
The process was subtle.
1. A forced and time bound curriculum of schools that will kill the curiosity and ability to ask questions.
2. Let them never grow out of childhood by not allowing them to participate in real-world projects.
3. Give them narcissism as the only dream worth pursuing.
Dont be scared mothers. We can happily discard schools. It will only benefit our kids.
If home-made food tastes so good imagine what home-made education must taste like.
February 6, 2021
I got my GED 13 years ago. As time went on I regretted not just getting it freshmen year and using the time I was in school to actually develop an education. John Gatto hits the nail on the head in this book that exposes the school system. You’ll have to get over how angry this guy is though. He served in the education system for 30 years and the book really gives off an “old man yells at cloud” vibe, but despite his contempt and hyperbole he does make some decent cases as to how the school system is a big factory to sedate the masses, and prepare us to serve the state. This has always been the case since it’s inception, of which John goes into depth. If you need further proof of what he’s talking about just look at the dogmas being pushed in our schools now. I’m glad we started homeschooling our kids. Socialization can happen in many other ways.
August 11, 2013
WARNING! Read this book at your peril because--if you care about education--it will make you angry.
Here's one amazing fact:
"By 1940, literacy as a national number stood at 96 percent for whites, 80 percent for blacks. Four of five blacks were literate in spite of all disadvantages. Yet, six decades later, the Adult Literacy Survey and the National Assessment of Educational Progress reported a 40 percent illiteracy rate among blacks -- doubling the earlier deficiency -- and a 17 percent rate for whites, more than quadrupling it. Yet money spent on schooling in real terms had grown 350 percent."
And don't blame the system on teachers:
"How many schoolteachers were aware of what they were actually a part of? Surely a number close to zero."
Here's one amazing fact:
"By 1940, literacy as a national number stood at 96 percent for whites, 80 percent for blacks. Four of five blacks were literate in spite of all disadvantages. Yet, six decades later, the Adult Literacy Survey and the National Assessment of Educational Progress reported a 40 percent illiteracy rate among blacks -- doubling the earlier deficiency -- and a 17 percent rate for whites, more than quadrupling it. Yet money spent on schooling in real terms had grown 350 percent."
And don't blame the system on teachers:
"How many schoolteachers were aware of what they were actually a part of? Surely a number close to zero."
September 8, 2015
I think that this book was very well balanced in giving a concise look at the history of education and it's design. The blueprint of what was intended by those that wish to enslave us because they felt superior. Also was demonstrated that school was not necessary to success. That success was more meaningful when measured in relationships and experiences and engaging processes rather than grades and test. That even Harvard was not interested in test takers but exceptional distinction.
I really liked all the books mentioned and have put them in my John Taylor Gatto folder if anyone is interested
I really liked all the books mentioned and have put them in my John Taylor Gatto folder if anyone is interested
January 12, 2017
Wow, so that was what wrong. ( I meant this as in a good way) this book is definitely a life changer. I think if the school is a big problem in your household (or, worse in some ways, even if it's not), this book is a must-read. Illuminates brilliantly why school feels as oppressive as it does, why today's schools are mired in haplessness if not outright cruelty, and why the system actually produces "results" that only make things worse for the young in our culture. (between) I also think if you are looking for a career as a teacher this book is for you. This is a must-read, also, for anyone considering a career as a teacher.
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