John Gatto Against School

We grew up hearing from elders that education is the path to success. We learned from an early age that the reason we go to school five days a week it is so we can become a member of the successful group. As I read “Against School” written by former New York State teacher John Taylor Gatto in 2003 for Harper’s Magazine I started to question his claims when he wrote that school teaches students how to be consumers and school limits students from growing up by teaching them how to obey. Those statements are spurious. As a matter of fact, the school prepares students for life. Lastly, technology plays a major role in school because it expands the learning for the children.

Think about if you were a child living in Sudan. You were born and raised there and didn’t have a clue about the qualities of the universe. How would your life be different? How would your mind be different? You may simply answer as, “I don’t really know.” Now think about how your life is in America, and all the things you do know about the universe. Many of you may think that school is a waste of time and it’s boring and you’ll never use anything the teachers teach us. But to me, those remarks reign entirely false. I believe that education lies as one of the many things that makes the world go ‘round. “An educated person is much more aware of the latest technologies and all the changes that are taking place in the world.” (Kidwai) In school,

Rather than creating a world filled with the most creative and independent thinkers, the crippling educational system that has been implemented by society over the years focuses on producing ‘mindless consumers and employees’. According to an article written by John Taylor Gatto, Against School, the flaws in a modern ‘compulsory’ school system that have dramatic effects on the student body and faculty. The passing blame between teacher and student are said to be results of the decreased salaries and mindless lesson plans leading to busywork for hours. The author states that as a society “ We suppress our genius only because we haven’t yet figured out how to manage a population of educated men and women.” (Gatto,5) The devastating decline in the quality of our educational system has encouraged this upcoming generation to not think at all for themselves or the effects their actions may have on others.

There are many people in the world that have been noted to be some of the most intelligent and educated people in the universe, but it seems that the idea of education is often mistaken with the idea of schooling. Being an educated person is not based off of how high one’s GPA is or how well one can write an essay. Rather it is how one lives their daily life and can overcome obstacles that lead oneself to the true understanding of experimental education. Education does not only exist in the academic world. Don 't be fooled; education most definitely exists in the classrooms of a university but it also exists everywhere else. It is through experimental education and how one overcomes certain obstacles that one is truly shaped into an educated person. Experience is the basis of all knowledge. It is quite the chilling thought to grasp that at any moment, one’s life can change forever. Jim Davison’s story in The Ledge is one about self-reflection and conquering a physical and mental battle that many would be incapable of doing. Similar to Davison, John Locke’s theory of education deals with learning from the process of experience through sensation and reflection. Textbooks and professors can help students understand certain ways to read, write, and do math, but none of that knowledge becomes useful when life twists and turns and something unexpected happens. Students are not taught through a textbook how to react when a loved one dies or when a traumatic experience occurs.That

The idea of education in the modern era could not have been so important without the failures of education’s past. Twain makes it clear in Huck Finn that education used to be a sparse concept in the 1800s. “What 's the use you learning to do right, when it 's troublesome to do right and ain 't no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same?” (Twain136) Basically, without learning, doing the wrong thing will seem right. Education is valued today as an important factor of life. Today, without the proper education, one may lead a life with nothing to work from and nothing to earn an income with.

Hence, if people are given a chance for good education they should take it. Education is a something everyone needs from beginning in elementary school all the way to college. Luckily, the majority of people in American are bless with being able to go to school at a young age. Everyone should take the time to expand their mind learning can have plenty of rewards even though when an individual is younger it does not appear that way to them. With the country, advancing in technology and the way things are done it is important to have education in one’s life. Taking the time to learn can have drastic effects on what one is able to do when it comes to outside of an educational environment. Learning useful information and skills will allow an individual to succeed in the real world and land a successful

Education is defined as, "The act or process of educating or being educated, the knowledge or skill obtained or developed by a learning process, a program of instruction of a specified kind or level, the field of study that is concerned with the pedagogy of teaching and learning, as well as an instructive or enlightening experience" (No author). People begin their education from day one till the day they die. Every day we learn new things in different ways. Whether someone is just telling us some random fact or you are sitting in a classroom being lectured by a professor. The main focus of this classical argument involves the learning that is done in the classroom or lecture hall in the schools of America today. The question arose as

To be deprived of this violates a standard which all humans should be granted. Education is important for a number of reasons. For starters, it is key to supporting yourself and potential family. It is difficult to obtain a job without the right training because you are considered unqualified if you do not have a license or some sort of credential associated with your name. In addition to this, employment options are very limited to a person without a degree. Since most companies will not consider someone for a position without education or training, the jobs that do meet the qualifications of these individuals have poor standards, lower wages and unpleasant work environments. Having a solid, strong and exhaustive education will give every individual access to suitable jobs and success. Education is also important for personal reasons. Education is fundamental for a human to reach their full potential, as they will be knowledgeable in a field they typically enjoy and are intrigued by. Most frown upon people who have little to no education. This means it is important for their development within society, as they will be given the same opportunities as everyone else, they will not be at a disadvantage, they will gain respect and there will be a decrease in discrimination based on education level and wealth. Ultimately, having an education is key for humans to feel fulfilled and self-worth. Education is one of

Malcolm Forbes summed it up best when he said “Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.”

The educational system is place to educate. While in the last several decades there has been a significant increase in college attendance and subsequent graduations, college is not for everyone. There are just as many people who do not wish to attend college as there is who do. With that we are not all the same and while one does not want to attend college that doesn’t make them any less intelligent or lazy for that matter. In my opinion the education system should invest more time and resources to provide opportunities to those who desire to enter the workforce without obtaining a college degree. Obtaining a trade craft, like obtaining a degree is something that cannot in theory be taken away, it is also way of self-improvement. I also believe that everyone’s circumstances are different and providing students with a trade craft, stands to reduce the number of people who sort of all through the cracks and end up on government assistance or turn to life of crime. With the increasing number of ways to attend college or earn credit alternatively, eventually obtaining a college degree is still a possibility. I however, also believe that learning to think critically is a beneficial skill that ultimately influences growth. Again, it is my opinion that with growth comes new understanding that allows one to then educate and inspire others to also seek things outside of their comfort zone.

Education is defined as the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself for mature life.(dictionary.com). This is what education is seen as and is conformed to be through the banking concept towards education. Nothing else is expected from it but it is expected to be the key to success in the real world. The educational system is flawed, it tells educators how to and what to teach and turns students into robots. Therefore, striping kids of the opportunity to comprehend what they are told to memorize and not just regurgitate the information back.

The world today is globally competitive and education is at the center of it all. John F. Kennedy, a former U.S. President, once stated, “A child miseducated is a child lost.” The importance of education has been hammered and embedded into our minds from the first day of school. We are constantly told education is the key to life. This is because education is “the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life (Dictionary.com).” Therefore, if a child is not educated at all or simply improperly educated than he or she has very little skill in judgment, wisdom, and reasoning. Without these skills it is difficult to be intellectually mature. In a society that is constantly changing and expanding there is much competition. In order to be a participant of change, children must be educated or they just simply become the watchers and not doers. The entire nation cannot all be watchers or the nation will fall. In order to be a successful accomplishing nation, it is crucial we are educated on different subjects of life or we

this world. They all achieved something different than each other but they all share one thing in common which is, they have all either had very limited or no education at all. This leads me to my next question which is , “Do we really need education to become successful?” “what is the purpose of education?” I believe the purpose of education is to teach social skills, cultural values and to set up one’s life to become successful. A few things I wonder are “ Why do we have to become educated in subjects we won 't use in life? How come we have to pay for college when we didn’t pay for grade school? I also Believe that education has partly become a waste of time and money, because were being taught what we don’t want to be and are paying for it.

Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.”  This quote provides a positive definition of the functions of an education. True education isn’t defined by the ability to remember words and numbers; it's defined by the ability to think, with character - and I completely agree. This has been the goal of the American people for a long time. Even when coming from a foundation of poverty, many people have been able to rise up from rags and become filled with riches because of an education. But many haven’t been so lucky. For some, a lack of education is a barrier of success. Due to poverty, those who are in the lower-class aren’t always provided with the motivation or the means to succeed academically. Not only that, but in some cases, education isn’t of enough importance for those who don’t have the same opportunities as those who have an educational privilege. In some cases, being raised in a low-income area could be an exposure to a considerably “bad” education, due to low funding and reduced resources for an education. Although having an education provides more opportunities for success and an end to   ignorance, it is often blocked by poverty, poor academic success, and poor teaching; poor teaching can have negative influence to a person's' education.

One must fully understand that school does not teach a person at its full and that experience in society actually develops the person physically and mentally. I completely understand that without education,