The paper is an analysis of an argument put forth by Taylor John on the value of education and in particular the American education system. This analysis first looks at the arguments fronted by the author and the evidence he uses, then it takes a stance that goes contrary to the view of the author with backing evidence.
Against School by John Taylor Gatto
The article is written by a former teacher who retired and hence recounts his experiences and tribulations in the teaching profession. He also airs his observations of the system and the shortcomings that he feels are in the system. He also suggests various ways through which the education system in America can be adjusted to fit the needs of the nation and of the children involved in the system.
Having taught for thirty years, Taylor indicates that there is nothing more commonly shared among children than boredom. It is an event that cuts across the children and the teachers with each side having the other side to blame. The most outstanding reason however is the education system that confines the teachers and the children to a routine for twelve years in compulsory program. The boredom comes from a predictable schedule and content by both the children and the teachers who are enshrined in the system.
The first argument in support for his castigation of the education system of the U.S.A. As it is the routine in terms of hours per day spent in school and the market value that is tied to the schooling system. He sights various figures that did not go through the entire schooling system but became significant people within the society, a proof that the schooling system is not the ultimate marking scheme for greatness in the society.
Taylor also argues that the education system is highly borrowed from the Prussian system hence makes the children to imbibe a foreign culture and as a consequence of it, the people going through the schooling system are meant to be adaptive and 'adjustive' to the governance system, to easily conform to the needs of the system, to be able to get assigned social roles and predeterminations of future and he notes that the system is also selective setting apart the weak ones in terms of grades from the stronger ones who have better grades.
The last of the arguments fronted by Taylor is the ability of education system to hinder the critical thinking of the children but surrender them to accept what the world has to offer them without criticizing. He calls these groups children, indeed says that "School has done a pretty good job of turning our children into addicts, but it has done a spectacular job of turning our children into children. Again, this is no accident" (Taylor J., 2003), which is summative conclusion to all the arguments made hitherto.
Response to text
Taylor puts forth his thesis and succinct defense of his thesis drawing a few examples from the current American society, all in effort to discredit the schooling system that exists. His arguments though fall short of looking at the numerous benefits that the education system has brought into the society.
It is not enough to mention one person who helped invent the WWI chemicals without necessarily having a college background, but there should be equal consideration given to the medics and research scientists who helped come up with medicine that would successfully see the eradication of malaria and other infectious diseases like chicken pox from the U.S.A. The medical field has inventions that have heavy academic backgrounds that equipped the scientists with the in-depth knowledge of the human body and the disease trends which would not be possible without education.
Indeed the argument that the schooling system is a mandatory confinement and o the other hand recognizing the home schooling system that has been embraced by millions of Americans is a self defeatist stand. The fact that the home education (for which Taylor advocates) exists is as a consequence of the current education system being flexible enough to allow for the parallel system and recognizing that it has the potential to shape the future of the children engaged in it.
It is fair to look at the numerous numbers of great people that have not gone through the education system, it is also fair to look at the ratio of the social misfits that have not gone through the schooling system vis-a-vis those who have gone through schooling system. There are many examples to draw from like the UK where there is 60% of the prison population being illiterate (Christina C. et al., 2008), Canada has almost similar results with 79% of people in the prisons being illiterate (Literacy and Policing in Canada, 2012) and the situation is no different in the U.S.A. with 56% prisoners estimated to have low literacy skills (Fitzgerald C., 2012). This is a clear indication that if the education system was not as emphasized as it is today, we would be having more crime rates than they are today since illiteracy is closely linked with social deviance.
The emphasis that the education system in America is selective and only favors those with high marks in class is also misplaced. The American education system is known to be one of the most all involving in the world copied by many nations right from the initial schooling age with the Montessori system encouraging independence of the children and self-motivation to use the education they acquire. Indeed class grading is not the only measure used for admission to colleges of late but varied test are conducted to establish the strongest points of the student before being advised by the career guidance masters on which field they should pursue. There are colleges and courses that cater for al grades and it is sheer falsehood to suggest that the creme de la creme are the only one who are sieved out fro the rest and given undue favors.
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