Against School

I didn't like it. Bold but an honest statement. I felt like Gatto was overly confident and generalized. Its true that a good writer needs to be confident but I just felt like Gatto took that too far. I definitely agree that there is some bad teachers out there and kids who are very bored in school but I felt like Gatto generalized that to every student and teacher. As I was reading his piece I just wanted to say, "You know John not every teacher sucks and believe it or not some kids do like school."

Another part of this essay that I found very disturbing was the very last two paragraphs when Gatto is attempting to globalize his conclusion, he mentions how parents should challenge there kids (nothing wrong with that), but then he goes on to mention "If Thomas Edison could publish a broadsheet at the age of twelve, if Ben Franklin could apprentice himself to a printer at the same age then put himself through a course of study that would choke a Yale senior today, there is no telling what our own kids could do." PLEASE can you say sales pitch. Granted the education system has its flaws but to tell a parent that if left to the cruel education system little Bob would become some crack dealing hobo vs. if they challenged there little Bob he would become the next president of the United States, is a ridiculous statement. Being to generalized and confident made his essay seem very weak.

Hopefully when this text book is revised the editors will put in between parenthesis, WHAT NOT TO DO, right above the title.