The Agency of Students

What I found nuance about Gatto’s analyzation of the school system is the way the system affects everyone involved. The modern education system does not allow students to physically control what information is being taught to them. Students are now passive bodies that are molded by their environment and have no agency to change their situation. Economic factors and poor test scores barricade individuals from reaching a successful point in society. This is a new form of segregation that aids in perpetuating capitalistic views. I completely agree that today’s population is being fed material that in turn, feeds our materialistic and social desires.

But Gatto fails to emphasize that the United States’ population cannot abandon the public school system because of its value in society and he diminishes the positive aspects of being educated. He failed to mention the very successful people that are bred through the school system and continue to find joy in education. And he is also functioning on the assumption that parents do not teach their children at home. In his conclusion, Gatto encourages parents to ameliorate the harms of schooling by simply parenting their children. This is such a naïve response to an extremely complex issue. Parental intervention will not solve the systematic issues that are deeply rooted in American ideals.

2 thoughts on “The Agency of Students

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  2. While I agree with you that Gatto fails to emphasize that we cannot abandon the public school system and that he failed to discuss the successful people that are products of the school system, I took his solution in a slightly different way. His encouragement of parents to allow for things like adventure, curiosity, and free-thought was, to me, not so much a permanent solution to the systemic issues, but rather a work-around to the currently insurmountable obstacles ingrained within the U.S. education system. I think the fact that he is not encouraging a complete abandonment of the education system, but rather a supplementation by parents in areas where public schools seem to be failing children shows that he is not saying his solution is the end game. He seems to be trying to make parents aware that our education system is far from perfect and that they cannot expect their children to thrive unless addition guidance is offered at home. I also think Gatto would argue that those successful people that are bred through the school system are most likely also receiving the things he recommends from parents at home. However, I agree with you that Gatto’s answer is far from complete, and for issues as deeply-rooted as our system has, we have a lot of work to do.

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