Gena wrote today about one of the hidden benefits of homeschooling. She said that a vendor informed her sister that 70% of homeschoolers are entrepreneurs. Whether that's before and/or after graduation, I'm not sure. Still, Gena was right to point out that it fits in well with John Taylor Gatto's research that points to the real reasons behind public schools.
I have read Gatto lately and found that his writings, while secular, offer a tremendous amount of insight. If schools are failing, it's because they are doing their job all too well. They were configured by influential businessmen and theorists in the 19th and 20th centuries to generate a supply of workers who were capable and content -- not angry and "uppity," which was the way things were going in the early 20th century with the labor strikes. A "content" workforce doesn't sound so bad, but the way they went about it is quite sinister. They believed that the best way to secure that capable but content workforce was to train them to accept facts, to recite from rote, and function in a peer environment that closely approximated the work environment. That's a great way to get a workforce, but a lousy way to train people to think for themselves and develop true competition, two essentials if a free market system is to perpetuate itself.
Homeschooling may save this nation. If you doubt that, read Gatto. He was Teacher of the Year in New York's Public School system and his intimate understanding from within that system lays the groundwork for his research. The two books I've been reading are below.
I have read Gatto lately and found that his writings, while secular, offer a tremendous amount of insight. If schools are failing, it's because they are doing their job all too well. They were configured by influential businessmen and theorists in the 19th and 20th centuries to generate a supply of workers who were capable and content -- not angry and "uppity," which was the way things were going in the early 20th century with the labor strikes. A "content" workforce doesn't sound so bad, but the way they went about it is quite sinister. They believed that the best way to secure that capable but content workforce was to train them to accept facts, to recite from rote, and function in a peer environment that closely approximated the work environment. That's a great way to get a workforce, but a lousy way to train people to think for themselves and develop true competition, two essentials if a free market system is to perpetuate itself.
Homeschooling may save this nation. If you doubt that, read Gatto. He was Teacher of the Year in New York's Public School system and his intimate understanding from within that system lays the groundwork for his research. The two books I've been reading are below.
| The two I've been reading: | ||
| More books by Gatto... | ||
Posted by 
Posted by 
Posted by 
Posted by 
Posted by 
Posted by 
