Against School John Taylor Gatto Analysis

798 Words2 Pages

My Lingering Essay: Public Education Beneficial or Detrimental?
Here in “Against School” by John Taylor Gatto, has a large chunk of it that talks about the public school system in the U.S and its history and purpose. I agree with Gatto, partly. Teachers and educators severely need a new school system, and it does indeed need it. The big question is why we still haven’t done anything to try and change the school system into something different and better? After going through the public school system for about 15 years, should people feel as if they just went to school then switch to a remaining life of working like drones of another system? The system that we have today has taken over the sense of creativity and replaced it with one that believes in the opposite. Creativity and individualism, this is the reverse of the school system we have today according to Gatto. Compared to when the public school system first started, here in the present our society doesn’t have the same requirements and needs of what we used to need. What we do need in our society right now for our school system is individualism and creativity.
It’s not always the teacher’s …show more content…

A majority of our school system has not been keeping up with the rest of the world. If you compare our schooling system and standards to other parts of the world you will see that there is connection between them. What needs to change in our system that can improve according to Gatto is that the school system should allow student to learn what they want and allow teachers to teach how they want, in order to give the people a sense of individualism and creativity not to make them into drones of

Show More
Related

  • Of John Taylor Gatto's Idiot Nation And Against School By Michael Moore

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    Historical facts are not easily countered and appeal to the reader’s logic. This works in Gatto’s favor because he is trying to convince a very large audience of varying opinions and educations to see his point of view. He questions the credibility of the current school system by comparing it to the education of historical American figures such as George Washington and Thomas Edison. He then goes onto argue the real goal of the system using figures and historical precedent - mainly the Prussianization of the school system. Gatto is a passionate libertarian, which may be part of the reason that he chose to mention political figures and the institution of the school system

    Read More

  • Difference Matters Summary

    1379 Words  | 3 Pages

    Labaree discusses how the United State’s education is in a school syndrome, as people in America want schools to teach society’s ideals as well as let people express their individuality. These two demands are polar opposites that cannot be achieved. As the focus goes towards balancing these in hopes of improving society as a whole, the bettering of actual student learning is put on pause. Labaree talks about the beginning of education reform, in the 19th century, being the most successful in developing society; however, as education reform continued throughout time, its effectiveness wore off. He then addresses how the desire for education reform is more about improving society than it is about learning. He finishes his argument by providing possible solutions to fixing this problem, but states that fixing this problem will never happen because no one is willing to give up both demands. Overall, Labaree goes in wonderful detail explaining the problems of education reform. What made me choose this article was that he addressed the desire that people have on school systems in promoting both society normality and individuality. This correlates well with my topic in whether public school systems promote conformist ideals or individuality.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Against School By John Taylor Gattos

    878 Words  | 2 Pages

    The average human would think that going to school and getting an education are the two key items needed to make it in life. Another common belief is, the higher someone goes with their education, the more successful they ought to be. Some may even question if school really makes anyone smarter or not. In order to analyze it, there needs to be recognition of ethos, which is the writer 's appeal to their own credibility, followed by pathos that appeals to the writer’s mind and emotions, and lastly, logos that is a writer’s appeal to logical reasoning. While using the three appeals, I will be analyzing “Against School” an essay written by John Taylor Gatto that gives a glimpse of what modern day schooling is like, and if it actually help kids

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Against School By John Taylor Gatto

    774 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many Americans do not question the credibility of the education system within the country because they believe it forms good citizens and creates a stepping-stone to success. John Taylor Gatto is an American teacher who has experience in the classroom for thirty years and has now devoted his life to critiquing American schools exploiting his own experiences. In his essay “Against School”, he argues that the 12-year system of school may not be necessary, due to its curriculum, and that it may be a tactic of manipulation from the government to promote obedience. I agree with his argument because there are many paths to individual success outside of public education, such as homeschooling or vocational school.

    Read More

  • John Gatto Against School Summary

    1168 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the article “Against School”, John Taylor Gatto urges Americans to see the school system as it really is: testing facilities for young minds, with teachers who are pounding into student 's brains what society wants. Gatto first explains that he taught for 30 years at the best and worst schools in Manhattan. He claims to have firsthand experience of the boredom that students and teachers struggle with. Gatto believes that schooling is not necessary, and there are many successful people that were self-educated. He then explains the history and importance of mandatory schooling. To conclude his article, Gatto gives his foresight for the future of schooling. Although Gatto has a well thought out argument for his opinion on schooling, he focuses

    Read More

  • Against School John Gatto Analysis

    558 Words  | 2 Pages

    To begin, there are several concepts about compulsory education that aggravates John Gatto and he explains his concerns in his essay “Against School.” Gatto’s first concern is everything is about school is boring. “Boredom is the common condition of schoolteachers (Gatto 608).” If the teachers are bored, they will create a dull and boring environment for the students. “Boredom and childishness were the natural state of affairs in the classroom (Gatto 608).” Lack of creativity and freedom is another concern of Gatto. “An educational system deliberately designed to produce mediocre intellects (Gatto 611).” Also, Gatto thinks school is unnecessary. “George Washington, Benjamin

    Read More

  • The Pros and Cons of California's Charter Schools

    2349 Words  | 5 Pages

    An article from the Los Angeles Times showed that the majority of Californians give California schools “a grade of C or below” and half think that the quality of schools will continue to decline (Watanabe). While the economic downturn affected the public school system in a negative way, it was not the sole root of its problems. It just simply exacerbated existing issues. Because of widespread discontent with the public school system, many different solutions to reform the mainstream public school system have been brought up in public discourse.... ...

    Read More

  • As American As Public School: 1900-1950

    873 Words  | 2 Pages

    Now that public schools were commonplace in America, they needed to be altered to increase knowledge of students leaving them. Through reforms and political events, schools became not only a place for learning math and English, but also a place to learn other skills that will help students obtain jobs once they graduate. School was becoming essential rather than optional.

    Read More

  • Against Schools

    1144 Words  | 3 Pages

    In John Gatto’s essay “Against Schools” he states from experience as a school teacher that are current educational system is at fault (148). He claims that classrooms are often filled with boredom manufactured by repetitive class work and unenthusiastic teachings. Students are not actively engaged and challenged by their work and more often than not they have either already covered the concepts taught in class or they just do not understand what is being taught to them. The children contained in classrooms have come to believe that their teachers are not all that knowledgeable about the subjects that they are teaching and this advances their apathy towards education. The teachers also feel disadvantaged while fulfilling their roles as teachers because the students often bring rude and careless attitudes to class. Teachers often wish to change the curriculums that are set for students in order to create a more effective lesson plan, but they are restricted by strict regulations and consequences that bind them to their compulsory teachings (148-149). An active illustration of John Gatto’s perspective on our educational system can be found in Mike Rose’s essay “I Just Wanna Be Average” (157). Throughout this piece of literature the author Mike Rose describes the kind of education he received while undergoing teachings in the vocational track. During Mike’s vocational experiences he was taught by teachers that were inexperienced and poorly trained in the subjects they taught. As a result, their lesson plan and the assignments they prepared for class were not designed to proficiently teach students anything practical. For example, the curriculum of Mike Rose’s English class for the entire semester consisted of the repeated reading of ...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Against School By John Taylor Taatto

    1049 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gatto argues that the staying in the American schooling system for so long has supplied him with every reason to refer to it as a childish and “ 'a disablement '” program for students. He supposes that he can bring out the best qualities in children by giving them the autonomy to make decisions and manage themselves, rather than confining them to school. According to Gatto, people may see the key problem of schooling as boredom. To clarify his point, Gatto believes having an education in school is considered as “a daily routine in a factory of childishness in order to make sure not one of them ever really grow up”.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Prussian Education System

    1311 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most high school students can 't wait for their school year to be over because they feel exhausted by the seven long periods of classes and not to mention boredom. John Taylor Gatto, a former New York State Teacher of the Year wrote an article called "Against School." Gatto criticizes the school system for their inability to meet the students’ expectations and for putting limits on their ability to learn. The children feel neglected, and the teachers feel helpless because they have to work with students who are not interested in the materials they are given. Gatto mentions how US high schools have become affected by adapting to the Prussian education system. According to Gatto, the purpose of high school is to manipulate the student 's mind

    Read More

  • Against Schools

    2166 Words  | 5 Pages

    ... people are more advantaged than others and will receive a top notch education, while others will receive a mediocre education that will prepare them less for college and more for a working class job. There most likely is a connection between social class and the educational opportunities presented to students, but it is also possible that other social forces are at play which determines the quality of a student’s education. In Gatto’s essay it was argued that are educational system is designed to perpetuate faults in order to create a manageable society. He supports his argument with various strong statements which makes his logic convincing, but he falls short when backing the credibility of his claims. The strengths of his essay prove to also be its weakness, which results in a piece of literature that only succeeds in arousing emotional reactions from readers.

    Read More

  • Redesign School

    455 Words  | 1 Pages

    One important reason to redesign school is that students will have a more positive attitude towards school. There is only so much that the US can spend on school. If they don't spend it efficiently, students won't be taught properly and, they will be wasting their time at school. This means that the younger generation won't be educated enough to properly run our country in the future, or that they will even be here to continue to run the US. If we don't start making good use of the school budget and re designing it, then, we will have less of a “land of the free” than a country full of young innovative people. Students may only be 20% of our population, but they are 100% of our future.

    Read More

  • The Education System

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    Educators attempt to change that system to make it better, but their change was not that great as an example for the world. Also, did that change qualify education systems to compete with other systems or not? Some examples and reasons have made me agree with some of the points from Gatto’s and Edmunson’s and disagree with them. John Taylor Gatto, in his essay “Against School: How Public Education Cripples our Kids, and why,” argues that the contemporary purpose of education in public schools is to produce “harmless electorate,” “a servile labor force,” and “mindless consumers” (28). According to Gatto, he is blaming public schools for claiming that the purpose of education is to shape students to certain expectations and habits without their interests.

    Read More

  • Life Long Learners

    866 Words  | 2 Pages

    Schools exist to encourage and fuel these possibilities. Public education is a tool which is used to expand the minds and knowledge of each and every learner. This tool not only provides knowledge but it also enriches the lives of all who take advantage of the opportunity. Public education additionally molds a well-rounded society of learners. Throughout my public school experience I often found myself interested and involved within the classroom. No matter where I went from the cafeteria, to Biology class, I couldn’t avoid learning. To this point I have been a learner and will continue to learn and become a life long learner. I have attained absolute knowledge in subjects such as Calculus and Geography from public schools, and I continue to broaden this learning through college. Learning about how to live and about the very different people around me has also been a skill I have naturally attained by going to school with many different students who look, speak, and act very differently. I have learned to be both a scholar and a gregarious adult. Through public schools, I hope to reflect the skills I have gained and to pass such things on to my students. Public Schools and all their teachings are the vehicle of which I hope to be a part to pass on this knowledge.

    Read More

More about Against School John Taylor Gatto Analysis

Open Document