Ivan Illmol: The Positive Impacts Of Deschooling

Amidst his essay, “Against School”, John Taylor Gatto conceptualizes that our academic facilities are designed as laboratories with sole purpose of producing uniformed consumers and stationary victims through compulsory schooling. A way of cyphering through the breeding grounds of our population and plucking the most desirable of species whom are pre-selected for specific positions. Moreover, insuring that our industrialization is grown through our children’s forced intellect. Ultimately, connecting Gatto to the concept that we should determine our education within ourselves, and not the one that was institutionalized upon us.

Lastly, people should value formal education over informal education because formal education reflects a standardized system in which society works. In the chapter “Credo,” from the novel, Hunger of Memory, Rodriguez exemplifies how formal education teaches the standard system of society through his Catholic school’s philosophy of teaching. He recalls how in his youth, the Catholic religion connected his public and private life despite the growing division of education and family because he could not differentiate between his home and church Catholicism. Rodriguez attended a Catholic school that emphasized the practice of memorization to learn about God and the Bible. Reflecting on their method of teaching, he realizes that “For contrary to more progressive notions of learning, much that is learned in a classroom must be the already known; and much that is already known must be learned before a student can achieve truly independent thought” (Richard 94). In opposing the modern concept of learning, Rodriguez discovers a universal truth about formal education in which “much that is learned in a classroom must be the already known” because a student must understand and process the knowledge already discovered before they can “achieve truly independent thought.” Rodriguez uses an anadiplosis to explain that the concepts and information in school, the “already known,” must be learned by students in school in order for the capability of discovering different things on their own

Leo Marx, once a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Harvard graduate, wrote an article titled “Technology The Emergence of a Hazardous Concept”. In this article, the author explores the modern day definition of the word technology and argues that technology offers too broad of a definition and is ill fitting to describe all technical advancements and their creators. Technology can be defined as the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science, and pure science (dictionary.com). On the other hand, it can

The book is an ideal text for those who want to gain a higher understanding of, sociologists trying to concept the cultural erosion from the schools, the religious supremacy of the schools, and the traumatic experiences of the schools and the dark ages of the school’s effects on the students. Psychiatrists in this field will find it very helpful, written with first-hand information by

Piaget’s theory supports children actively compose knowledge as they explore their environment which is one of the advantages of unschooling (Boundless, 2016). More importantly Piaget and unschooling methods both agree that children that have their own space will continue education without the need of force ( UMUC, 2016). This is different than Lev Vygotsky social cultural development theory in which he believes it’s the child’s social environment that shapes the child’s cognitive development. Rather than the child learning on its own it interactions with their environment that they learn from. I believe Vygotsky and Piaget’s theory are both equally true and both pertain to unschooling. Given that unschooling displays a freestyle approach encouraging a child to learn from their own will it also insist active learning in an environment that the child will engage and learn from.In many ways pulls from both Piaget and Vygotsky

The essay ‘Against the school’ by John Taylor Gatto draws our attention on to all the cons of attending twelve years of high-school. Gatto has experience in teaching profession for twenty-six years in schools of Manhattan, he shares from his experience that he majored in boredom and could see that everywhere around him. He also points out the initial reason why schools came into existence and what the purpose it fulfils now. He also educates us on the fact that all the great discoverers never attended school and were self-educated.The main idea Gatto addresses in his article are that public schooling is doing the youth an injustice.He implies that the purpose of schooling, now is to turn children into good employes and someone who follows orders.

The author compares today’s school system to that of the past, which concerned itself with teaching students,

(STEWE-1) In order to gain knowledge, education is clearly a necessity and schools are what give us that education. In Montag’s society, school has just about no learning involved. The government has made it so that “‘School is shortened, discipline [is] relaxed, philosophies, histories, languages [have been] dropped, English and spelling [are being] gradually gradually neglected, [and] finally

This schooling occurs close to three quarters of the course of the year, for twelve years and maybe even more. He calls this routine “deadly,” and the schools in which this is occurring are “forced confinement” and “virtual factories of childishness.” Children are told when they are going to do something, they receive a schedule made for them and must go to them at the assigned time, usually at the sound of the bell. The schools themselves “all too often resemble prisons.” This abrupt truth makes people realize that getting an education would be difficult to do, considering the teachers closely resemble the boring and controlled environment, the students must learn in. These factories where children are “shaped and fashioned” into a product of society’s “specifications.” This negative tone and views really allows the reader to see that school environments are not beneficial to everyone and can be quite negative.

Consequently, the rational step taken is to deconsecrate schools into outwardly irreversible place of esteemed value of social order (Kozol, 3). He further noted many ways of opening the issue in complete observation of the class, which he believed can be attained by the quotation of many respected people’s word, such as Horace Mann who was diffident in articulating the real utility of public schools. Nonetheless, he also provided some other ways of embarking on this which he conscientiously noted that has exposed their conjecture of public schools as adults (Kozol, 4). Additionally, he said the best way of achieving this is by disseminating this purpose to students through dialogue as recommended by Doris Lessing (Kozol 4). Finally, he stated that there is no deceit of learning to be a responsive, affectionate or sympathetic person.

Kozlowska explains that the concept of unschooling is a natural way of learning that all children experience before they start traditional school. She uses logos in the following quote: “‘...There is no reason to believe that this ability to make mental connections, to ask questions, would disappear by the age of 5 and 6.’” to try to convince the audience that unschooling better prepares children for the real world. Kozlowska gives an example of a family that was able to successfully utilize the method of unschooling to allow their two children to learn at their own pace and explore their own interests instead of being forced to learn about topics they believe will never be present in their adult

Mass public schooling has traditionally proclaimed among its goals the following: (1) to help each student gain personal fulfillment and (2) to help create good citizens. The two goals they claim here are for the betterment of the individual and the other for society that have an odd relation with one another. These two goals are what put schools at tough ends. The schools do not want to limit the students’ individuality but also want to encourage conformity to allow for students to mingle with other students. The issue that causes most tension in schools is the strict scheduling students must follow which by allowing the students to choose several electoral courses in their schedules levitates. Individualism is also encouraged in the school system with allowing the students the freedom to represent themselves through their own clothing. These points will be further and thoroughly discussed through the remaining of this essay.

At the age of 6 years old, a child would most likely experienced the school system which would include pre-school and kindergarten. There are many physical, cognitive and social changes that are happening in middle childhood development. This paper will examine what these changes affect the child’s ability to function in society. This analysis will focus on the normal course of development in middle childhood as it applies to the theorist Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages and then give examples of what may happen if the developments are not carried out.

One element that diminishes Holt’s essay is generalizations. He attempts to use generalizations to make it appear as though school is an evil place that needs to be saved. For instance, he says,

For many people, school will play a significant role in their lives. From early childhood to adolescence, school is an institution where young people are taught technical skills like reading and math, as well as a place where they learn about morals and develop an understanding of the world around them. The ultimate goal of school is to prepare students to effectively navigate society as an adult. In order to achieve this, somes schools enforce strict rules and disciplinary actions, while others emphasize creativity and free thinking. For canonical science fiction writer George Orwell, his school experience was extremely rigorous and stern. In the essay “Such, Such Were the Joys” (1952), Orwell delves into his experience as a poor boy at an elite British preparatory school called St. Cyprian 's. Between the ages of eight and thirteen, he was subjected to poor living conditions, verbal abuse, and physical abuse from teachers, all in the name of making him into a rich, smart, and successful adult. However, the essay often questions the reliability of those methods. By using pathos and irony to appeal to his audience, Orwell argues that the school system is inherently absurd because it fails to prepare children for the intricacies of life after formal education.