So, this John Taylor Gatto guy thinks that schools were originally designed to keep people from being too smart for their own good. He provides some convincing evidence. And whether he’s actually right or not, I know that school is definitely not helping me learn…its hard when the teachers are dumber than you are.
what do y’all think?
I heard John Taylor Gatto speak about 15 years ago after he received what I think was his second NYC teacher of the year award. He was at a homeschool convention when I heard him, I would guess. The guy was a wonderful speaker and had great insight into the teaching of the mind rather than the homogenization of the individuals in society. His present ideas seem more radical but not necessarily unrealistic. Public school is a great place to manufacture a complacent work force for large industries. Early institutionalization makes it go smoother later down the road.
Also interesting are the requirements of teachers these days. They require extra degrees, certicificates, and in short need to show that they are quite accomplished scholastically. This actually has very little with being able to reach someone, get them to learn, and in particular get them to learn to be self-motivated. Why does a teacher have to know a subject to get the students to learn it? Where does this knowledge come from? Does it all come from teachers or from learners?
i wonder if hes realated to anothony, that hte first thing i thought of, and you just anked what I thought so yeah thats what i thought
Ends of a spectrum?
I never answered your question in the clocks thread. And now this thread gives me the answer you were looking for.
I went to school in the United States of America. The mediocrity stuck* but the worker-drone conditioning never “took”. I’m proud of what I can accomplish today in spite of my education.
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- case in point, it took me five minutes to figure out this.
And you should be proud. But how long did it take you to find out who the prime minister of Canada is? I have a tendency to invade south.
It is taking me a long, long time to find out who the prime minister of Canada is*. My motivation is so low I can’t even type the word google. Can you give me a clue why I should care (and what your last sentence means)? Canada. That’s like, outside the United States, right?
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- okay, I’ll take a guess. Margaret Thatcher?
AWESOME guess. No, I can’t give you a clue why you should care. Canada is the big state north of New Jersey.
New York is the big state north of New Jersey. Canada is the big state just north of Cleveland, which is where Sofa is right now.
So, any relation?
The BIG state north of New Jersey?
The Big state north of New Jersey happens to be NEW YORK.
The Big state north of New York is CANADA
I said big state. New York is a puny state. No relation.
As anyone west of the Mississippi River knows: New York State consists of an island formerly owned by the Dutch (now re-named Manhatten), a bigger island just east called “Lon Geye-land”, and an area called the Bronx where the hated Yankees play (if you’re a Mariner fan).
That big gap of space north of Pencil-vania and New Jersey and west of
Vermont certainly can’t be New York, and therefore is Canada.
And the Hudson River originates in the Hudson Bay.
We know our geography well here on the left coast.
The practical part of my education began after school. Life is the best school.
well all i know, is that in english class i think proper english and sentance structure and spelling should be more important than poetry and love and all hat crap. just look at my post!!
I learned more English in my two years of French, than I have in all my years of English…because we need to learn sentence structure and syntax and grammar in French, which forces us to understand it in English.
Hey Greg, I didn’t know you was a homeschooler. Makes sense-what with your Liberal-tarian views on things.
Check out this interesting project on Physics Education;
http://www.colorado.edu/physics/phet/web-pages/index.html
take home lesson -> traditional lecturing doesn’t work very well.
People remember 10% of what they hear, 50% of what they see, and 90% of what they do.