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John Taylor Gatto's Book: An Eye-Opener on Education

by Samuel L. Blumenfeld

John Gatto has talked about his new book – in progress for years. And we’ve all waited for it patiently. It was delayed by the original publisher. But finally, it’s done and about to hit American culture with an incredible wallop. John sent me a pre-publication edition, and it has taken me weeks to read all of it. And you have to read it all, because you just don’t want to miss a word. That’s the way John writes, as if he’s standing next to you and talking into your ear. And then, I shall probably read it over and over again. It’s a breathtaking, sweeping view of what compulsory schooling has done to America.

And it’s more. John Taylor Gatto is much more than New York State’s Former Teacher of the Year. He is a philosopher who is probing into the depths of our American civilization and finding answers that no one else could have possibly dreamed of. And it is obvious that he loves America because he writes with such passion and humor, especially when he writes about growing up in western Pennsylvania on the banks of the Monongahela or about his adventures in the classrooms of Manhattan. The title of his book is The Underground History of American Education. A Schoolteacher’s Intimate Investigation Into The Problem of Modern Schooling.

What makes the occasion of this book so special is the knowledge that only an American could have written it. George Santayana wrote in 1920, “To be an American is of itself almost a moral condition, an education, and a career.” John is so thoroughly American in his ability to analyze and understand what has happened to this country. His knowledge is intimate, profound, and accurate. He understands fully the anatomy of our educational-industrial complex, which is far more dangerous than the military-industrial complex, which President Eisenhower warned us about. After all, what does the military-industrial complex produce? Guns, tanks, airplanes, battleships, bombs – inanimate objects which the government is supposed to use only when we are threatened. Most Americans are quite content to have all of this stuff as insurance against our enemies but not have to use it. But Madeline Albright, eager to bomb Belgrade, told the generals: “What good is having all this stuff if you never use it?” What she didn’t understand is that not using it is the whole point about having it. So she and her NATO colleagues invented a war so that they could use it.

But with the educational-industrial complex, we are dealing with an entirely different animal, one that eats children alive, destroys minds, destroys families, undermines our culture, provides neither protection from our enemies nor academic learning for our kids. It’s an expensive monster that Gatto knows all too well and wants us to know as thoroughly as he does. I kept notes while reading the book, here are a few sample quotes to whet your appetite:

“School is the first impression children get of organized society. Like most first impressions it is the lasting one. Life is dull and stupid, only Coke provides relief. And other products, too, of course.”

“Growth and mastery come only to those who vigorously self-direct. Initiating, creating, doing, reflecting, freely associating, enjoying privacy – these are precisely what the structures of schooling are set up to prevent, on one pretext or another.”

“The strongest meshes of the school net are invisible. Constant bidding for a stranger’s attention creates a chemistry producing the common characteristics of modern schoolchildren: whining, dishonesty, malice, treachery, cruelty. Unceasing competition for official favor in the dramatic fish bowl of a classroom delivers cowardly children, little people sunk in chronic boredom, little people with no apparent purpose for being alive.”

“Much of the weird behavior kids display is a function of the aperiodic reinforcement schedule. And the endless confinement and inactivity slowly drives children out of their minds. Trapped children, like trapped rats, need close management. Any rat psychologist will tell you that.”

“The cries of true believers are all around the history of schooling, thick as gulls at a garbage dump.”

“The very clear connection between all the zories of the emerging American hive-world are a sign of some organized intelligence at work, with some organized end in mind.”

What should make you suspicious about School is its relentless compulsion:

“The net effect of holding children in confinement for twelve years without honor paid to the spirit is a compelling demonstration that the State considers the Western spiritual tradition dangerous.”

“Who besides a degraded rabble would voluntarily present itself to be graded and classified like meat? No wonder school is compulsory.”

“The crime of mass forced schooling is this: it amputates the full argument and replaces it with engineered consensus.”

These are the kind of quotes that ought to be in the next Bartlett’s book of quotable quotes. They are easily understood out of context. But the book is thick with argument and history and marvelous insights that are not as easy to sum up in quotable quotes. They have to be read and savored for their unalloyed wisdom. Gatto is wise, and I think the educational-industrial complex will do nothing to promote his wisdom. But it will be very hard to contain John Taylor Gatto.

He is one of the most sought-after speakers in America, and he speaks to everyone: homeschoolers, Christians, humanists, corporate executives, and they all laugh at his jokes and listen carefully and closely to what he says because they know that no one in America can tell the truth the way he does. The truth is irresistible, even to those who would rather avoid it. Some people listen to the truth as a way of testing their ability to stand up to it. In any case, it will be interesting to read what the educators have to say about the book. But, I suspect that few professional educators will want to stick their necks out. John has his own little portable guillotine waiting for the right occasion.

Meanwhile, the accolades are pouring in from the readers. Mary Pride calls it “The most important book on education I have ever read.” Eric Schultes writes: “How does he probe so deeply the complex issues surrounding our schools when so many experts can hardly penetrate the surface at all?” Cathy Duffy writes: “Here is the whole story, the hidden agendas, the true believers, the dumbing down. If you care at all about children, you’ll be livid as you read.”

If we ever needed a battering ram to pull down the evil structure of compulsory public schooling, this book should be able to do the job. The book calls for a revolution. But not a violent one. It can be won easily and peaceably by merely taking the kids out of the public schools. It’s still legal to do so. That would change America radically. But the pessimists will say that most parents are too brain-dead to care what goes on in the public schools. Those parents who do care have already gotten their kids out and are homeschooling them. But we know that every day more and more parents are beginning to see the light. That’s encouraging.

Samuel L. Blumenfeld is the author of eight books on education, including NEA: Trojan Horse in American Education, The Whole Language/OBE Fraud, and How to Tutor.

June 17, 2010

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