John Taylor Gatto on Education

Front: What was the literacy rate in Massachusetts before compulsory education vs. after?

Back: Before: 98% literacy rate. After: Never again reached above 91% (as of 1990).

Front: What are the two institutions that control children's lives according to Gatto?

Back: Television and schooling, in that order.

Front: How much private time do children have per week according to Gatto's calculation?

Back: Only 9 hours per week after accounting for sleep (56 hrs), TV (55 hrs), school/homework (45 hrs), and meals (3 hrs).

Front: What is the core belief of elite education systems?

Back: Self-knowledge is the only basis of true knowledge.

Front: Name the 8 pathologies Gatto identifies in schooled children.

Back: 1. Indifferent to adult world 2. Lack curiosity/poor concentration 3. Poor sense of future 4. Ahistorical 5. Cruel to each other 6. Uneasy with intimacy 7. Materialistic 8. Dependent and passive

Front: What does Gatto say schools actually teach?

Back: Schools don't really teach anything except how to obey orders.

Front: When and where was compulsory schooling invented?

Back: Massachusetts around 1850. It was resisted by 80% of the population, sometimes with guns.

Front: What are Gatto's proposed solutions for educational reform?

Back: Independent study, community service, adventures in experience, privacy and solitude, apprenticeships, and strengthening family bonds.

Front: How many hours of community service did Gatto require in his "guerrilla program"?

Back: 320 hours per year of hard community service for every student.

Front: What does Gatto mean by "schools 'school' but don't 'educate'"?

Back: Schools are designed to produce predictable, controllable behavior (schooling) but fail to develop true knowledge and self-reliance (education).

Front: Who designed the modern school system according to Gatto?

Back: Horace Mann, Barnard Sears, Harper of University of Chicago, and Thorndyke of Columbia Teachers College - as instruments of scientific management of mass population.

Front: What example does Gatto give of elite children developing confidence?

Back: Elite children solve risky problems like galloping horses or making them jump before age 10, building unshakeable confidence.

Front: What is the "continuous present" phenomenon?

Back: Children have no sense of how past connects to present or how today links to tomorrow - they live only in the exact moment they're in.

Front: What does Gatto say about homeschooled children's performance?

Back: 1.5 million children are homeschooled and appear to be 5-10 years ahead of formally trained peers in thinking ability.

Front: What is Gatto's view on the relationship between family and education?

Back: Family is the main engine of education. Schools have been designed since 1650-1850 to break children away from parents, which must stop.