John Gatto

I recently read a book entitled "Dumbing Us Down," by a decorated teacher from New York named John Gatto. This book was given to me by a friend at Christmas time, and I read it on a bus trip to Edmonton in January. Mr. Gatto has some radical views on education, and is somewhat pessimistic in nature. He makes a number of good points, though also many that I do not agree with. His main argument is that, contrary to centuries of apprenticeship education, schools today are artificial settings that teach students to be emotionally dependent and take away their intrinsic interest in learning. I can appreciate where Gatto comes from in these instances; however, his advocacy for home schooling is something that I do not agree with, for I see home schooling as just substituting one artificial situation for another. In schools, Gatto argues that students lose the knowledge that can be gained from their elders; in home schooling, I argue that students lose the knowledge that can be gained from their peers. I think Gatto and I can agree on how successful apprenticeship training can be. It would be interesting if apprenticeship training could be extended from the trades to all subject areas as well. Just a thought.