I believe that school is a necessity for childhood development in the modern world. Gatto discusses only the factory-like mongo schools, and I found it hard to even take his argument seriously after his first couple of paragraphs. When a teacher is engaging, the students automatically become engaged. Regardless of how interested they are in a particular subject, the teacher can draw them into the lesson. If the teachers are just as bored as the students, they either need to change their curriculum or find a different job.
The historic examples of unschooled individuals may seem like a good foundation from his argument, but these were extraordinary people. Many of those whose names are now extremely well-known came from wealthy families who had time to teach their kids how to read and write. The majority of uneducated people, both then and now, spend their entire lives doing labor only to disappear from history forever.
Today, I would expect a leader to have had elementary school, high school, college, and hopefully graduate school. School is needed to provide basic understanding of basic concepts, like math and history, but also it provides a social foundation. Where would a future political leader practice his or her executive skills if he did not have an environment to work off of? A school gives him or her access to resources and presents issues that he would be able to try to solve. Even if we're talking about artists, this is true. On page 155, the quotes says that the educational system is designed to "put down dissent and originality." An artist or a writer would have resources that he or she might otherwise not be able to obtain without the school. He would not only have materials, but also influences to inspire his ideas. Peers, teachers, and books provide a constant flow of information with which a student can develop more sound opinions about issues, including dissenting theories.
Lastly, without a basic knowledge of things, nothing can ever progress. Students need to learn first year biology so that they may build upon it until they reach the intellectual glass ceiling. Until that point of knowledge is reached, a person cannot hope to discover something further. That applies to any subject, but particularly science. School gives kids a place to discover what they truly want to learn more about, helping them to make educated decisions of what they want to do with their lives.
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2 comments:
This is an interesting point of view, and I can definatley see that. I think hearing about the different opinions of school is very interesting, especially how they differ in children, teenagers, and adults.
I agree with your point that not all students are bored, and not all teachers are boring. I think Gatto generalized schools- he seemed to assume that all schools are large and filled with the bored and the soon-to-be-bored. I also agree with your statement that leaders of our country, like our president, absolutely need to have a well-rounded, extensive education background.
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