Is school really worth going to for each student? In Gatto's essay "Against School" he views school as a place that children do not learn at. Gatto thinks school is banal because it teaches every student to act the same way as each other. What freedom is that giving them? For me and I'm sure many others that statement is true, we all get the same homework and not any freedom or creativity. There are no choices that you get to make when it comes to education. Everything is planned out for you The more alike the students are the easier it is to control them. He refers to this as the integrating function. I find this function very damaging and it makes me worry about the future of the children involved.
Do most kids really enjoy it and love going or is it just taking up required time? When Gatto asked the kids what they thought "They said that work was stupid,that it made no sense, that they already knew it" (142).How is that helping the students then when the teachers don't even know what they are talking about? It's more just taking up time I think. I found this statement very interesting because it is true. My experience with elementary to high school proves this because each year you just keep building off what you already know and relearning new things involving the same concepts. Even in my college math class I'm learning information from high school again. He also talks about how most of the information they learn is not interesting or useful, just what society wants you to know, or information that can be memorized. Why arn't life skills being taught too?
For Gatto he views school as a boring place and not worth going to but on the other hand I believe school is useful in different aspects. Some information helps you like learning to read and write. You get to be among other children for interaction.What could you accomplish without writing or reading? Very little and your life would not be as engaging, and jobs would be hard to have if all you could do was talk. He even calls them "laboratories of experimentation on young minds, drill centers for the habits and attitudes that corporate society demands" (149). Are schools really that negative of a place to be at? So he encourages parents to teach there kids the right way to be and to reverse the things happening in the schools.. I hope I will be able to teach my students the right way to be so they don't become like the children he talks about in his essay. To help make the school system more engaging, give them more freedom and creativity, and eliminate those six destructive/ damaging functions.
What will the future be like in American Schools? The same old boring school or the new interesting creative, freedom given school?
Brittani,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I really enjoyed your blog. It really got me thinking about the school system.
I agree that all students are taught to act the same and that this is wrong. Students are at all different levels, but yet are all taught the same education. Why can't anyone see this is wrong? Also, I agree that this is damaging the students by not allowing them to grow as an individual.
On the other hand, I disagree that schools are just there to take up time. Valuable lessons are learned in the classroom even if they are the same lesson everyone else is learning. What if school wasn't required? How would people know how to communicate? School teaches kids how to communicate with others and form social bonds all of this would be lost without a school system.
I have the same feelings as you in that I hope to be able to teach my students well and not just bore them and take up their time.
In answer to your last question, I truly believe that schools are getting better and will continue to do so in the future.
Amanda K
Brittani,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your blog, I came to the realization that you and I have the same thoughts and experiences. I agree that the integrating function is damaging and it worries me for the sake of the future. I feel after you stated that you were worried about he future it made me stop and think, "If we don't do something about school now, things will ONLY get worse." Since way back when school importance has been decreasing. I feel it is becoming more of a babysitting center. They watch us so our parents can make a living.
I also enjoyed that you shared your own personal experience. I to agree with the fact that year after year all teachers do is build off of what you already know and relearn new things involving the same concept. I hope that things will turn around and we have a better, more fun, and creative school system. I enjoyed reading your blog.