Weapons of Mass Instruction Insightful, but . . .
Posted: Wednesday, October 21, 2009
by John Weber
http://screambucket.com/
Okay, class: quick pop quiz. Compulsory education is:
a) Responsible for "dumbing down" the population.
b) A tool used by the ruling class to control the labor force.
c) Responsible for society's every conceivable malaise, from economic woes to diabetes.
d) The best way to get a "good" job.
e) All of the above.
Gatto, who retired after being named New York State's "Teacher of the Year" in the op-ed pages of the Wall Street Journal, continues where he left off in his best-selling Dumbing Us Down, railing against compulsory schooling in his compelling treatise, Weapons of Mass Instruction.
The book is as exhaustive as it is thought-provoking, with each of its 206 pages revealing either a little-known, historically-based indictment against compulsory schooling or Gatto's own provocative theories, based on 30 years teaching. I say "schooling" and not "education" only because the two, the author often claims, are far from the same.
In a nut-shell, Gatto says "education", is better defined as "growth" or "self-mastery" attained by "those who vigorously self-direct, by planning, doing, creating, reflecting, freely associating, taking chances", and problem-solving. School, on the other hand, is "a conditioning laboratory, drilling naturally unique, one-of-a-kind individuals to respond as a mass, to accept continual ennui . . . and limited competence as . . . natural parts of the human condition."
Why, you ask? Because "the official economy we have constructed demands constantly renewed supplies of leveled, spiritless, passive, anxious . . . people who can be scrapped and replaced endlessly, and who will perform at maximum efficiency . . . people who think the difference between Coke and Pepsi are subjects worthy of argument."
If all this sounds a little 1984, it should; Gatto quoting a veritable alphabet of rogues and scholars in his argument against Big Brother and "factory schools"; everyone from Aristotle to Zuckerberg (Facebook), an incredibly well-researched thesis that will leave you exhausted and . . . well, what exactly? Ready to refuse writing your SAT's, as Gatto recommends? Eager to drop out? Anxious to buy a farm and become the next reality-TV version of Green Acres? What exactly are you, the dumbed-down, unimaginative product of a factory school education supposed to do . . .particularly if you buy Gatto's trumped-up argument against mass "education"?
Interesting question, one touched upon by the US Senate Committee on Labor and Human Relations when it asked Gatto, in 1991, to speculate what schools in 2000 would look like. Gatto responded that schools of the future would look much the same as they have since 1790, the last century it was "still possible to become educated in America because school didn't preempt all the time of the young . . . it didn't impose servile habits on their growing up time; it didn't indoctrinate young minds with a burden of too many pre-thought thoughts."
The author added that he didn't think much would be done to change the system because change depended upon political leadership, itself dependant for election upon "the same financial interest which profit from schools staying the way they already are. Schools," he told the Senate Committee sadly, "are a most lucrative source of contracts. . . for friends and relatives of your campaign donors", in short, the same "ruling class" that "factory schools" have been created to serve.
In Weapons of Mass Instruction, Gatto goes on to explain that education must be self-initiated, "a tapestry woven out of broad experience, constant introspection, ability to concentrate on one's purpose in spite of distractions, a combination of curiosity, patience, and intense watchfulness, and it requires substantial trial and error risk-taking, along with a considerable ability to take feedback from the environment-to learn from mistakes". He calls this kind of education "open-source" learning, and profiles a long list of highly successful "dropouts", including William Shakespeare, Paul Allen, Warren Buffet, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Sir Richard Branson and many more open source learners to make his point.
I say, "make his point" rather than prove it because despite his myriad arguments, I'm not entirely sold. To begin with, while I agree there's possibly millions of people who've found success after turning their backs on "formal" education, I'd wager there are many millions more who've made their fortune with degrees in hand. And while Gatto argues that well-paying, "good" jobs don't necessarily guarantee happiness, they certainly get you into the ball game (just ask anyone who doesn't have one). Along the same lines, isn't it possible that many millions of dropouts might have been more successful, more educated, had they stayed in school?
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, what proof does Gatto have that any alternative form of education would work any better? Just because some people have found success outside the existing school system doesn't mean everyone would. There's a good chance that an alternatively educated population would have fewer success stories than the existing one.
Third, while I haven't read the speeches and books that comprise Gatto's impressive body of research, I am aware how language, like statistics, can be taken out of context. And while Gatto quotes many government and educational leaders saying that the goal of education is to create a manageable workforce, the argument can be made that a high standard of living (if that's important to you) is in part based upon an efficient (manageable) workforce not prone to constant "revolution". Does this imply evil intent or simply common sense? In theory, it's interesting to speculate on the pros and cons of a free-thinking workforce. In reality, it's an all-in, win or lose gamble.
Finally, Gatto blames formal schooling for tearing children from their families, and argues for a more Amish-style education that would allow children to gravitate to areas of interest, learning from family, friends, neighbours and community. What he fails to address however, is that the family he envisions no longer exists, because with both parents working, there's no one at home. And while he could suggest that the two-income family is itself the result of forced schooling-the belief that two incomes are necessary to survive in a nave, consumer-based economy-few people if any are likely to give up their income to test drive his theory.
Gatto, of course, knows this, and while his anger seems palpable, it's easy to make arguments that will never be tested. And whether this reality is further proof that compulsory schooling is the ultimate weapon of mass destruction or just common sense, it's an interesting quandary; Gatto perhaps arguing that common "sense" is the ultimate oxymoron; a quality that mass instruction has long since destroyed.
In conclusion, John Taylor Gatto is either tilting at windmills or leading a charge that could save the world. An educated person would think about it . . . a fool or a wise man would act.
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