Whats Wrong With Public School? ~John Taylor Gatto

[Ceres]

Here is an essay called the Six Lesson School Teacher, written by one of my favorite authors on homeschooling. He has a distinguished reputation as a very effective teacher, winning teacher of the year more than once in NYC. I know his ideas will be familiar to those of you who already homeschool, but I thought it might be interesting reading for the curious and the tentatively interested:

www.cantrip.org/gatto.html

[Faol-chù]

A few years ago, when my nearly 9 y/o son was less than a year old, I (a SAHM) found myself taking business management classes and trying to get a degree to prepare myself to get a job once my children were tucked safely into public school. (My 12 y/o daughter was already in kindergarten.)

I am the wife of an hourly factory worker. As such, I have had the opportunity to hear all sorts of interesting things about the way management regularly manipulates the workers in factories in the name of 'production'.

In taking those classes, I had the opportunity to learn about the science that went into 'tweaking' people to get them to do more. There are all sorts of theories, and people have been manipulated like lab rats to prove or disprove them.
The eerie thing was that I was starting to notice a pattern forming, for some of the same types of things were being done in the school systems [i/with my child[/i]. It truly gave me the creeps. It bothered me enough that I ended up putting off my education and homeschooling my daughter.

It became apparent to me that industrialization and the school systems were aimed at a common goal.

It was not until I read John Taylor Gatto's The Underground History of American Education that I found the "proof" of that.

It's a great read (though very heavy) if you ever have the chance to pick it up.

Le meas,

Faol-chù

[lynn271]

It's a great read (though very heavy) if you ever have the chance to pick it up.
Faol-chù

Mr. Gatto has made it available online. You can read it for free. I recommend it for everyone.

http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/chapters/index.htm

[Faol-chù]

Mr. Gatto has made it available online. You can read it for free. I recommend it for everyone.

http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/chapters/index.htm

I've got people I've recommended this too who would like to read it, but do not care to buy it. (And it's not in our library.)

I'll send them this link...:)

Le meas,

[AmericanMe]

John Stossel did a good report (http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Stossel/story?id=1500338) on why public schools suck. Basically, his view is that comes down to the fact that the US school system is a monopoly. Lack of competition=crappy service.

[Ceres]

Actually, AM, the author I posted writes about whats wrong with school as a vehicle for education altogether, not just in America and including schools everywhere. He believes what you are saying as well, about it being a monopoly, but also that the WAY they are run is not in the best interests of educating children.

[Rhianna813]

This is a very interesting article. I am only half way through and have bookmarked it.

Thanks for sharing!!