Having gone to public school all my life (until this year) I can say that I understand what Gatto sees in the public school system. However, I disagree with his assertion that that what it accomplishes is problematic. School’s function of training good (obedient/civilized) citizens is not evil, instead it is necessary for a functioning society. Not everyone can be a leader or a revolutionary. If that were the case, the structure of society would fall—and with it the standard of living and people’s peace of mind. I also find fault with Gatto’s claim that one of school’s main functions is to brainwash students to consume more and more. I think this is a classic logical fallacy—just because generations before public schooling consumed less than today does not mean that schooling caused this change. Instead, it is more likely that free education increased the productivity and the incomes of later generations, and their consumption grew to match these. I also found Gatto’s references to George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln as leaders who “were not products of a school system” quite misleading. Gatto’s claim implies that these leaders would have been harmed by participating in a school system, however, given all that they accomplished, I find it unlikely that schooling would stand in their way. If schooling increases the standard of living of those that it supposedly “brainwashes,” and allows those who would have been leaders with or without the schooling to think independently—what is left to fear?
Introduction to Comparative Politics: Nationalism, Ideology, and State Power
Professor Shervin Malekzadeh
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Andrew,
Having gone to public school myself, I agree with your criticism of Gatto’s assertion that the public school system is made to brainwash students into being more aggressive consumers. Our capitalistic and technological society falls on an upward slope, and as you said, that naturally would cause an increase in consumption as well. However, I challenge your notion that the school system does not create a problematic result. Being obedient, as you mentioned, is not an evil thing and having respect for an authority is certainly necessary in sustaining a non-violent and functioning society. However, where I think this obedience is problematic is in the fact that students are blindly following this system, one which is unfair and biased. The public schools in New Mexico are going to be vastly different than the public schools in Massachusetts. And one’s race, economic status, and cultural capital will determine where they start in the race to make it through the schooling system and find a job. As you said, not everyone can be a leader. But how our society chooses these leaders, and how the schooling system aids in this choice is surely problematic.