Having gone to public school all my life (until this year) I can say that I understand what Gatto sees in the public school system. However, I disagree with his assertion that that what it accomplishes is problematic. School\u2019s function of training good (obedient\/civilized) citizens is not evil, instead it is necessary for a functioning society. Not everyone can be a leader or a revolutionary. If that were the case, the structure of society would fall\u2014and with it the standard of living and people\u2019s peace of mind. I also find fault with Gatto\u2019s claim that one of school\u2019s main functions is to brainwash students to consume more and more. I think this is a classic logical fallacy\u2014just because generations before public schooling consumed less than today does not mean that schooling caused this change. Instead, it is more likely that free education increased the productivity and the incomes of later generations, and their consumption grew to match these. I also found Gatto\u2019s references to George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln as leaders who \u201cwere not products of a school system\u201d quite misleading. Gatto\u2019s claim implies that these leaders would have been harmed by participating in a school system, however, given all that they accomplished, I find it unlikely that schooling would stand in their way. If schooling increases the standard of living of those that it supposedly \u201cbrainwashes,\u201d and allows those who would have been leaders with or without the schooling to think independently\u2014what is left to fear?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Having gone to public school all my life (until this year) I can say that I understand what Gatto sees in the public school system. However, I disagree with his assertion that that what it accomplishes is problematic. School\u2019s function … Continue reading