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.