In his 2003 Harper’s Magazine article, former teacher and author John Taylor Gatto asserts that public schooling in the United States is meant to be boring, repetitious, and often meaningless to, as he quotes from H.L Mencken, “‘breed and train a standardized citizenry’” (qtd. in Gatto 35). Gatto further describes this phenomena as the “conformity function” that has the “intention…to make all children as alike as possible” (36). I believe that this neutral assertion is correct. As Gatto indicates, coming out of primary and secondary schooling American children are expected to have a certain level of education in core subjects of Math, History, Science, and English–in this sense, every citizen is standardized on some level through the education system. Gatto, however, takes this concept of standardization and views it through a decidedly negative lense. Standardization of education, he writes, creates an “ignorant mass of mankind,” (36) that is unable to think “critically and independently” (38). And yet, standardization of public education was hailed as a hallmark of American progressiveness when it was first became mandatory in Massachusetts in 1852. Public education is also a symbol of unity and equality (although that can be contended) across the country. For example, the vast majority of American high schoolers have taken Algebra I, no matter where they are from or their socio-economic status (quality of the course, however, may not be equal). It is an amazing thing to think when you are struggling through a concept that every other teenager is or will go through the same experience. This is the equality of standardization: it can be a beautiful thing that allows students to have some understanding of each other. All in all, a simple switch from a negative to a positive viewpoint changes the fearful concept of conformity to one of equality.