Response to “Gatto’s Lack of a Resonable Alternative to a Complex Problem”

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I agree with Syd’s argument that Gatto provides a strong analysis of the problems of American public schools undermined by a weak slate of potential solutions. The examples of “Washington, Franklin, Jefferson” are meaningless because every generation has brilliant academic thinkers – the question is, was society as a whole better-educated prior to the introduction of the public school system? I would guess not. He cites “2 million happy homeschoolers” as proof public schools are unneeded to provide a basic set of academic skills. This seems staggeringly optimistic about the academic rigor and factual accuracy of home-school curricula; even accepting that, it seems improbable millions of parents will be able to instruct their children at home. The other implied alternative, private schools, have the twin benefits of being prohibitively expensive for most families and even better at diving society into strata than public schools.

The best option is the one that Syd gave: expanding and improving the public school system. The principles Gatto values – free thinking, inquisitiveness, maturity – can be instilled in children through instruction; this has been taken as fact. Public schools, reformed, are the best way to expand those virtues to more children more efficiently.

Education Standardization: Conformity or Equality

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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.

Response to Sydney (“Gatto’s Lack of a Resonable Alternative to a Complex Problem”)

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I agree wholeheartedly with your response. Without school, there would be astronomical negative repercussions in society. While it is easy to criticize such a large and complex institution, calling for reform is very different from dismissing the institution altogether, the way Gatto does. While the “boring” nature of school can be repressive in a way, it is also the path to social and economic mobility, a cornerstone of the American idea. Public school, at least in this era, is necessary to maintain this aspect of society.

Preproffesional Attitude of Schools

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While this article was scathing in many ways, there was one particular point that Gatto made that really rang true to me: “School trains children to be consumers and employees.” I come from an area in New Jersey where even the public schools are extremely academically competitive. The particular magnet school I attended was STEM focused, and most of my peers intended to pursue careers as doctors or engineers. While on the surface these may seem to be noble pursuits, I came to see it in a different way after studying with them for four years. There was a mechanical nature to the mindset of the student body. If you weren’t rote memorizing facts that would help you on the next test, you weren’t learning. Any kind of critical thinking or discussion was considered to be a waste of time. My high school education taught me most how to follow instructions. The roots of this go back to the industrial revolution, when much of the classroom characteristics we are with familiar with today were put into place. However, I do not think history and structure are entirely to blame. I believe that this issue stems just as much from our culture. Wealth is valued as the chief signifier of success, and wealth is most reliably obtained from a stable job derived from a college education. Our public schools are no longer focused on creating the best citizens, thinkers, and lives, but rather on achieving this objective.

Response to “Gatto’s Lack of a Resonable Alternative to a Complex Problem”

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I agree that Gatto supplies a lack of solutions to the problems he presents and, as Syd pointed out, fails to address the larger issues behind the public school system in our country. However, I think that another mistake that Gatto made was failing to realize that the problems he described — of “modern, industrial, compulsory schooling” (page 36) — can be applied to all schools in America, whether private or public, or something else. This is because the larger issue here is that school in general does not encourage creativity due to the focus that many schools place on earning the highest grade. Often in school, students find themselves actually trying to repress their creativity in order to achieve the highest mark. Multiple choice tests provide the perfect example; often two of the answers are quite similar and students find themselves trying to put themselves in the mindset of their teacher because that is what the answer will be, since they are, after all, the ones who chose the answer. This in itself is a problem. While sometimes there is only one correct answer, say for a math problem or science law, often there can be multiple ways of thinking about a situation and the fact that modern schooling often discourages thinking outside of the box is a point that I believe Gatto is correct about.

While one way to start creating a better public school system is definitely to help underfunded public schools and to provide public schools with more resources overall, the problem of discouragement of creativity in schools in general would still be present.

Response to “Against School”

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John Taylor identifies problems in the American system of public education that are very real, such as the categorization of children by academic performance. Taylor states that “we have been taught (that is, schooled) in this country to think of “success” as synonymous with, or at least dependent upon, ‘schooling'” (34), and the result is that institutions prefer to provide resources for children who appear more likely to be successful according to their performance in school. This is a very limited method of selection because it excludes people who may excel in areas that cannot be measured in subjects taught at school. Thus, the public education system often promotes the importance of obedience to a set of rules and expectations over creativity and independent thought. However, Taylor does not detail a specific solution to remedy the faults of the current system besides giving general guidelines (34) that one could interpret any number of ways and saying that educated men and women should be allowed to “manage themselves” (38). Additionally, he does not seem to consider the possible benefits of the modern school system. Public schools provide free education, and their respective states hold them accountable for their academic performance, a basic measure against mismanagement. They also usually provide a number of free or inexpensive extracurricular activities for interests outside of the classroom that some children may not have otherwise been able to explore. It is easy to point out the problems with the current public education system in America, and doing so is important to draw awareness to such shortcomings. The difficulty lies in introducing feasible alternatives that would effectively end them.

Against School

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Like machines, students are rolled through schooling as if they were in a manufacturing company being processed to be and think a certain way. John Taylor Gatto questions if we truly need schooling due to education’s failure to meet their standard goals and the happiness of homeschooled children. To Gatto, our education system has failed. And school is no longer a necessary function in order to make good people, make good citizens, and to make each person his or her personal best.

However, our country needs a system. A structure where children can get an education, while having a social interaction, and learn basic life lessons they will use in the future. School is very key to helping someone learn and gain attributes such as responsibility, hard work, learning to work in group settings, how to deal with adversity under pressure, and much more. Yes, there are blockages in the system set forth, and traditional schooling is not for everyone.  Here at Williams, there is a presence of always having the pursuit of an A, however, it is not so much as the robotic and machine like students Gatto describes. People are striving for knowledge. And that should always be the ultimate goal in a progress and fully functioning society.

– Lauren Barry

Against School

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I agree with John Taylor Gatto when he writes that school is boring. This boredom is the result of an overflow of information that is repetitively and mindlessly drilled into the heads of students across the country. The United States education system needs to be invigorated with what its students want to learn, not what is deemed necessary by education officials. I disagree with the fact that modern schooling “make[s] a sort of surgical incision into the prospective unity of these underclasses”, because school does allow students to collaborate and cooperate, and that environment needs to be sustained as education gets reformed. The students simply need more autonomy in what they engage in when they come into the classroom. 

Similarity as a Detriment to Society

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Our current public school system is not ideal, and it fails in more than one category. Gatto describes the “integrating function” of the public school system, on page 36, which is intended to have children conform to a set standard and be as similar as possible. I have personally seen this in effect as my younger brother, a high school sophomore at the time, called me to complain that on his math exam he got the correct answer for a question but did not receive credit because he did not use the exact method the teacher expected of him. On one hand, the public school system has offered an education to millions of children who otherwise would be unable to afford schooling if privatized education was the only alternative. A country-wide public school system is an incredible undertaking and does need to have certain standards to ensure quality across the board. However, I struggle to see why this must be done in such a way that takes creativity out of the question. Not everyone learns or thinks in the same way, so if figuring out a different method can help a student understand better or work more efficiently, it should be rewarded instead of penalized. Ultimately, problems require creative solutions, otherwise they would not be problems to begin with, and stripping the population of the ability to think critically basically cements their place as “sitting ducks” who are at the mercy of those in power (page 37).

Why Structure is Necessary

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I would love to write that Gatto’s perception of the public education system is the result of a small sample size and therefore inaccurate, but that would be wrong. To address the stated reasons for implementing mass schooling in the United States, the public education system does not produce good people, good citizens, or allow each person to be his or her best. Students are thrown into a situation where there is always a clear power structure, and are essentially obligated to create a place for themselves. If by “to make good citizens”, however, one means “force children to conform so they are easier to control”, then the public education system is, in fact, successful. Finally, children are either held back or pushed along at the classroom pace, which will almost always mean that one is not able to become his or her best.

While I agree with Grotto that the public education system does not achieve its stated goals whatsoever, I do believe that society needs a system like forced schooling to continue functioning. It is not a bad thing that we associate grades with knowledge gained, and the prestige of one’s school with success. Civilization requires structure; if everyone were simply educated on their own, there would be no common ground, and no basis for control. Williams is as different from Grotto’s description as an institution can be in real life; we are here by choice, and the college is structured to allow the individual to create their own learning path. But, while we did choose to be here, we are also at Williams for everything that comes with the degree.