When considering my scholastic career, I think I can count myself quite lucky in that I have always found a few teachers that were incredibly invested in my learning, in my academic development, and in my growth as a young kid. This personal experience has only made me more aware of the widespread tragedy of uninspired teaching and a greater system that suppresses creativity and personal thinking. However, I am not convinced that the vague solution Gatto proposes, to “Let them [educated men and women] manage themselves” is as complete as he hopes. Central to his argument is the theory that the current education system is a conforming and silencing force, exercised on one group by another. I just do not believe that a lack of a system altogether, with all the freedom and independence it promises, will effectively steer society away from this issue. Some structure is necessary; some stresses, pressures, and difficulties can be forming when exercised in the correct way. The crucial factor in this case, however, is a two-sided commitment (from teachers and students) to the challenges and responsibilities of education. Put simply, this ‘correct way’ needs to be one based in the promotion of that which makes every student unique, but equally capable of bringing out these valuable qualities.
Introduction to Comparative Politics: Nationalism, Ideology, and State Power
Professor Shervin Malekzadeh
I agree with Teo’s point that Gatto does not provide a practical solution to the issues he perceives in the current education system. Rather than forcing children to conform, I believe that the present system allows an indifference towards pushing beyond what authority figures and peers agree is known. True creativity becomes unnecessary as it does not ensure higher grades and can even endanger them if they do not meet the expectations of a teacher. I would argue that Gatto describes a system in which its victims are also its perpetrators as the students who undergo the restricting system of education become teachers who continue the process. However, I agree that instead of a complete lack of a system, one must strike a balance between guidelines/accountability and freedom/creativity, and Teo’s soluton of a “two-sided commitment” seems necessary for the greater investment of emotion, time, and other resources that this requires. Faults would still exist in this new system because it depends on the students to discover what makes them unique and cultivate those skills, but I believe that freedom means that an individual has the opportunity to improve his situation and the choice to not do so.