John Taylor Gatto Against School

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Many people could look back on their grade school years and not recall one thing that truly peaked their curiosity. Why might this be? Students take classes that cover a wide range of subjects, so surely something must have been interesting. The problem tends to originate with how the material is taught, which cannot always just be blamed on a bad teacher. Unfortunately, students are just downright bored in school. In his essay titled “Against School,” John Taylor Gatto, a former teacher of the year for the entire state of New York, argues against the continuation of our current education system. He also argues that public schooling is just a way to turn students into citizens who fit the corporate mold. With perspectives from Gatto’s essay, my own public school experiences, and from what I have learned while majoring in Secondary Education, I will examine the pros and cons of public education while looking at some of the more controversial topics that impact both teachers and students. I believe that strict learning objectives found in Common Core and standardized tests stifle effective learning methods in the public school system. Before analyzing the pros and cons of public education, I turn to Gatto’s essay “Against School.” Gatto …show more content…

According to the Common Core State Standards Initiative official website, “the Common Core State Standards establish clear, consistent guidelines for what every student should know and be able to do in math and English language arts from kindergarten through 12th grade (What Parents Should Know).” State education standards are nothing new. In fact, they have been around since the end of the 20th century. These Common Core standards were adopted nationwide in 2009. The reason for the adoption of these standards was because every state had its own distinct levels of proficiency which created a lack of standardization (Development

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