John Taylor Gatto is a former New York public schoolteacher who taught for thirty years and won multiple awards for his teaching. However, constant harassment by unhelpful administrations plus his own frustrations with what he came to realize were the inherent systemic deficiencies of our `public’ schools led him to resign; he now is a school-choice activist who writes and speaks against our compulsory, government-run school system.

THE UNDERGROUND HISTORY OF AMERICAN EDUCATION is a freewheeling investigation into the real – as opposed to the `official’ – history of schooling, focused on the U.S. but with examinations of other historical examples for the purposes of comparing and contrasting, as well as for tracing where ideas and concepts related to education originated. You will discover things you were never told in the official version, things that will, at times, surprise, disgust, and scare you. You will also be introduced to the little-known historiography of the the darker side of the construction of compulsory government schooling.

In the final analysis, Gatto believes that compulsory, government-run schooling is inherently destructive to true education, the cultivation of self-reliance, and indeed to individualism – which used to be a defining element of the American character. The true purpose of our public school system in reality has more to do with control than it does with learning. This does not mean that rank-and-file teachers, principals, and even superintendents believe they are making students dumber, more conformist, less self-reliant, less capable of genuine analytical, independent thought, and more easily controlled; most people involved in the system no doubt believe that they are trying their best to really teach their students. However, the system itself (which Gatto often characterizes as a complex web) ensures that its real purpose is served, despite the efforts of individual reformers within it – that true democracy is rendered unworkable even as the trappings of democracy are allegedly bolstered. Seen in this light, these institutions that produce barely literate, dependent, conformist, incomplete individuals full of emotional and psychological problems, who lack real knowledge (and whose capacity for acquiring such is deliberately weakened or eliminated), and who are just `educated’ enough to pay their taxes and buy the latest products, are not, in fact, failing schools – on the contrary, if we are to believe Gatto’s analysis, they are performing their designated function PERFECTLY. That purpose is to mold people in such a way as to make them more easily controlled by corporations and the state (a clear-cut example of how, contrary to popular myth, the interests of big business and those of big government more often than not coincide.)

Don’t ppl see that’s the real issue districts have with charters?
I mean, what is ‘wrong’ with having high standards and subsequently high scores? As a parent now, I have to say that I am willing to go that route, if it means my child can actually be served and develop in a supported environment=where he/she can excel and not be held back by constant discipline issues, or violence, etc etc It’s ridiculous how this view of mine has come to mean ‘elitisim’ to some.

I have heard people say immmersion magnet schools and charters, for example, are elitist b/c the ‘take the cream of the crop from the neighborhood schools’ and that parents of lower socio economic status are not aware of these other programs, or cannot drive their kids to them, etc.

While I have not seen this to be the case in charter schools here in CA [at all-in fact, many communities have leveraged charter funding in minority and lower income neighborhoods, to take advantage of the opportunity to have s ay over the money for each child, fewer administrative costs for the school and far less bureacracy(resulting in immediate action not years to make changes), I can also ask: Are we parents, who also pay taxes, supposed to take a back seat until our ‘american democracy is perfect and all are equitable’? I mean, we shall all sit around in mediocrity until everyone can be mediocre? And then we can all swim together towards the next ‘level’ which may be moving towards a collective vision of ‘excellence’?

Children who do have supportive parents and access to resources (including many of us who are middle class/barely getting by, but are not clueless and are able to make choices, regardless of how much cash flow we have), deserve innovation, progress and success as much as ‘underpriveleged’ do.

Charter schools and homeschooling will continue to grow. And everyone should read (esp. those in NYC where he taught in Harlem for 30 yrs) John Taylor Gatto’s ‘Underground History of American Education’. Mind. Blowing. Book. Epic. Food words. Dense. And nearly impeccable. His website has chapters online for free-but it’s well worth buying.

Money, tenure, and far greater reaons, prevent America from ‘reforming education’. And anyway, reform is now an industry unto itself-supporting many jobs and much money.

BTW, I hope people remember that public education as we know it is just over a hundred years old. It’s not like it’s innately human; it’s just a creation of humans. It’s meant to evolve and change. Not just w/in it’s format or context, but it’s very format will change. That is innately human.

You should also remember that kids, teachers and schools, have changed dramatically – since you or I were children. Kids have gotten a lot more difficult to work with – as well; teachers are more skilled and qualified than ever – as a result of a raising of teacher certification standards.

When it comes to charter schools – one can’t really compare them to a conventional public school. For one – charter schools usually don’t have to comply with the same regulations that regular public schools have to. They usually use this power to expel uncooperative students very quickly. Some schools – like the Bronx’s very successful KIPP academy (a school I once worked next to) – expel students at a rate of 50 percent – for behavior or attendance problems. This helps schools like these, usually run by private organizations that profit greatly from these schools, to maintain an atmosphere that a typical public school could not – insofar as behavior stats, performance on exams and attendance (markers used by bureaucrats and politicians to claim progress) – etc. If you took – for example – KIPP and made it exclusively responsible for education in New York – you’d automatically see their performance rates fall, because they’d be forced to teach ALL of the kids.

Reform – in my opinion – really requires more than what people like Joel Klein or Michelle Rhee have been fighting for: higher graduation rates and regents passing rates. Kids who do well in these areas – as a result of their time in a charter or regular public school – don’t necessarily do well at the college level, because college requires skills that aren’t profitable to the people running them: they don’t help students pass the exams that make a school “successful.”

As a former student and teacher in the city’s public schools – I can tell you that what today’s kids need are practical skills: college prep. – in the form of being helped to research college majors and careers, understanding prerequisites to entering the various professions: grad. schools, internships -etc. And college writing also has to be emphasized: many inner city students can’t write effectively: 85 percent fail CUNY’s writing skills assessment exams, and effective health and food programs, through which kids are taught how to read nutrition labels and how to maintain a balanced diet are also important. You sort of hit on it – when you mentioned how some schools are exclusively open to a certain group of children. This is true and really leads to inequality – between how students are treated, across the city. Another problem has to do with the chancellor not requiring enrichment programs across the board. This leaves a lot of kids on their own – when it comes to knowing what’s open to them, after high school.

Lastly, you have serious behavior issues – amongst the population of students being “served” in our city’s schools. As a teacher – I saw kids and teachers regularly assaulted, verbally and physically. Students bring their cells and I-PODS to schools, and understaffed schools are unable to control the dozens of kids who bring these items into their schools and refuse to listen to reason, because it’s never been used with them at home. Parenting is a whole other issue – because most studies show that kids learn the most fundamental things from their parents: vocabulary, values and morals, etc. School is the final product. So… students who don’t have that at home need extra support, though many of them really despise school and would probably not take advantage of such a program.

Essentially – it’s a very complex issue: definitely not a black and white one. I’m glad you’re involved – because you’re not someone who stands to profit from any of the “reforms” being suggested. As such – it’s that much more important that you make sure that you’re on the right side of the issue.

Take Care

OK, full disclosure: I’m a teacher there.

On another note, it’s nice to see substantive discussion of education on a celebrity blog. Keep it up, and come visit our school!