It is difficult to relate to Taylor Gatto’s analysis having a Williams education, as we are pushed to take on the “grown-up” (38) material he mentions. The  spiritual abyss that arises when thinking about the role of grades and rank in our society is overwhelming. However, if a public school education as the author describes it, allows us at a minimum, a “mediocre intellect”, or as I see it– at least a mediocre life, then I suppose we should take this as a reliable safety net. In the United States, if one doesn’t have at least K-12 schooling, they are perceived to be of little value to our society. And while I would love to see everyone in the world have an education as intellectually engaging as the one we have, I think there are more dire matters at hand. What really caught my attention is Taylor Gatto’s claim that “schools are meant to tag the unfit…to wash the dirt down the drain” (37). What of the children who are deemed unfit for school– of those who can’t even make it into the ranking we so dread? There are a variety of reasons for this: there are some geniuses in the mix, but it’s mostly an issue of  /background/social status/cognitive abilities. When the playing field is uneven we begin to understand the failure of meritocracy. Your success is ultimately about your opportunities. So when the author writes about issues like  conformity, I am frustrated alongside him. However, it seems that this piece lacks a large piece of the puzzle.