Going back to the Elementary and Middle School days, we remember continuously glaring at the black and white analog clock, hoping those last 15 minutes would flash in a blink of an eye. Having to do the same routine five days a week, and ten months a year, eventually starts to get old and children start getting bored of constantly having the same schedule. In John Taylor Gatto’s “Against School”, he talks about the weakness of public schooling and how it can be detrimental to a students intelligence development. He calls the American Schooling System as a “childish program” because of the repetitive school schedule we get used to. Leading up to teens referring to schooling as boredom, then makes a point where children should make their own
…show more content…
But, both have an ideal argument that would have an impact on the broadest audience possible. And that would be the fact that even though schooling hasn't been doing a good job, it is still a two-sided commitment, from teachers and students, to the challenges and responsibilities of education. Gatto takes a position where most students could completely relate to him in order for the audience to connect with him. Gatto expresses to us how he doesnt like the schooling system because of the same routines they put students through, as well as himself. He provides us with context on why students are dropping out and what schooling and education really is. Gatto asserts having education is not equal to taking schooling which is instead considered as “a daily routine in a factory of childishness in order to make sure children do not really grow up.” Almost like a system designed to specifically not focus on education, but rather routine based activities, and citizenry actions. Gatto supports his views by citing a significant number of successful Americans who did not go through the schooling system but turned out to be productive and successful. “George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas …show more content…
concerning education, which he discusses again at the end of the article. Steinberg takes into account that American high schools are a disaster and are destroying teenagers capabilities of learning. He goes on, saying that American high schools score below average in international assessments and asks the question that he is trying to answer in this article, “What’s holding back our teenagers?” “But our high school students score well below the international average, and they fare especially badly in math and science compared with our country’s chief economic rivals” (Steinberg 2). Steinberg then moves on and brings up a study based on OECD data that compares high school students’ participation and belongingness, which showed that American high schools are a place of social interactions rather than intellectual engagement. He provides statistical data to show the lack of improvement and academic engagement in American high schools compared to China, Korea, Japan, and Germany and how the U.S. tops its top 3 chief economic rivals in social engagement. “On the measure of academic engagement, the U.S. scored only at the international average, and far lower than our chief economic rivals: China, Korea, Japan, and Germany. In these countries, students show up for school and attend their classes more reliably than almost anywhere else in the world. But on the measure of social engagement, the United States topped
But, both have an ideal argument that would have an impact on the broadest audience possible. And that would be the fact that even though schooling hasn't been doing a good job, it is still a two-sided commitment, from teachers and students, to the challenges and responsibilities of education. Gatto takes a position where most students could completely relate to him in order for the audience to connect with him. Gatto expresses to us how he doesnt like the schooling system because of the same routines they put students through, as well as himself. He provides us with context on why students are dropping out and what schooling and education really is. Gatto asserts having education is not equal to taking schooling which is instead considered as “a daily routine in a factory of childishness in order to make sure children do not really grow up.” Almost like a system designed to specifically not focus on education, but rather routine based activities, and citizenry actions. Gatto supports his views by citing a significant number of successful Americans who did not go through the schooling system but turned out to be productive and successful. “George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas …show more content…
concerning education, which he discusses again at the end of the article. Steinberg takes into account that American high schools are a disaster and are destroying teenagers capabilities of learning. He goes on, saying that American high schools score below average in international assessments and asks the question that he is trying to answer in this article, “What’s holding back our teenagers?” “But our high school students score well below the international average, and they fare especially badly in math and science compared with our country’s chief economic rivals” (Steinberg 2). Steinberg then moves on and brings up a study based on OECD data that compares high school students’ participation and belongingness, which showed that American high schools are a place of social interactions rather than intellectual engagement. He provides statistical data to show the lack of improvement and academic engagement in American high schools compared to China, Korea, Japan, and Germany and how the U.S. tops its top 3 chief economic rivals in social engagement. “On the measure of academic engagement, the U.S. scored only at the international average, and far lower than our chief economic rivals: China, Korea, Japan, and Germany. In these countries, students show up for school and attend their classes more reliably than almost anywhere else in the world. But on the measure of social engagement, the United States topped