Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Reasons for School: It's Not Pretty

These are my personal notes I took from a speech given by John Taylor Gatto at the 7th Annual AERO Conference, Albany, New York, June, 2010.

Before you read any further, I feel I must warn you. John Taylor Gatto is a pretty radical dude. But I like him. And I might add that he has a great sense of humor about his angle on education. He filled his speech with personal stories, and backed up his opinions masterfully with books and articles about the history of education. All eye-opening. If you ever get a chance to hear him speak, he is a must in my humble opinion.



Reason #1: To make good humans
55% of private schools are religious

Reason #2: To make good citizens
Teach skills that need to be experienced, not memorized.
Public speaking and persuasive writing should be at the front of education, but it's not.

Reason #3: Schooling is for personal development
The above three traditional purposes are inoperable to manage.
It's not in the nature of man for principles to be taken seriously.
Principled people must be marginalized because a society with masses that are too productive destroy an economy.
See the essay "On Libery" by John Stewart Mill
Train young people early from straying from the right path
Conquer the parents first and divide them into thinking "what we are doing in school is best."

Reason #4: Create Artificial Fear- the poor are irredeemable
Tractatus Theologico-Politicus by Baruch Spinoza. Divide them from their parents and culture and religion, fill their heads with nonsense. This concept was reworked in Prussian Germany, through the creation of the Pope in Rome, and the creation of Tutonic Knights. "exterminate the heathens"

Reason #5: Common people (roughly 80% of the population) have to be neutralized
How?
Memorize lists, deep analytical thinking has to be rid of, deprive them of primary experience, supply a confused version of reality. Read "The Federalist Papers." All power is inheritantly evil and corrupt. "Decent Of Man" by Darwin has given public schools the license to label students as both inferior (special Ed) and exceptional (Gifted and Talented).



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