John Taylor Gatto

For many years, American people have complained about the public school system that is currently in place. Many wonder what happened to the once prosperous system that was ranked number one worldwide. In fact, according to The Broad Foundation, "after World War II, the United States had the number one high school graduation rate. Today, [the U.S] has dropped to number 21 among industrialized nations” (Broad). With shocking statistics like these, it is unavoidable to wonder where the system went wrong. Schoolteacher John Taylor Gatto expressed his view in one of his essays.

In Gatto’s essay, “Against School”, he identifies what the various problems of the school system are and offers a few suggestions on how parents can reduce its effects. This essay first appeared in Harper’s Magazine in 2003 stirring up possible controversy on the purpose of the school system. According to Gatto, the school system is corrupt and does not allow children to express their individuality. Gatto refers to this system as “virtual factories of childishness” (301) because it creates children with little to no intelligence as opposed to well-prepared adults.

Throughout his essay, Gatto makes several remarks regarding what he perceives the purpose of school to be claiming that this system “was useful in creating not only a harmless electorate and a servile labor force but also a virtual herd of mindless consumers”(305). Not only this but Gatto also agreed with H.L Mencken, author of American Mercury, in that public schools only serve ‘simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same level…to put down dissent and originality’ (303). As opposed to Gatto, I believe that the school system in the United States focuses mostly on preparing a foundation for those entering the workforce and that it strives to prepare those who want to continue their education without depriving them of the leadership skills they need in order to succeed.

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