Anyway, for those who don't already know of Gatto, he is a former New York state public school teacher. He won many awards for his work as a teacher, but after 30 years he quit and denounced the sytem. He has since become a well-known speaker and author. I first found out about him on one of my rather melancholy walks through the college library - dissatisfied with college, and hoping for a little company among the outcast, dusty volumes of the education section. I found Dumbing us Down, a wonderful little book which pales in comparison to The Underground History of American Education - which is so much more than observation and commentary; it's simply jam-packed with FACTS!
I had always felt that homeschooling was an important shaping factor in my life. Yet, it made me feel isolated - because, let's face it, most people aren't homeschooled, and they couldn't understand other than in a superficial way. I valued that set-apart-ness. Maybe it was arrogance, maybe it was something inside of me that just needed to be seen as unique. Whatever it was, I think it made me insensitive to other homeschoolers who had negative experiences, as well as to outside questioners. I think I had the defensive reaction of Storm in X-MEN 3 "No, they can't cure us. You wanna know why? Because there's nothing wrong with us!" Witness this somewhat angry piece: What about Socialization?
Still, for all my pride in homeschooling, I gradually got to the point where I had to admit that it hadn't made much visible difference. I was still going to college, just like everybody else (and taking much longer than 4 years, at that). I didn't really know what I wanted to do - just like everybody else. I wasn't confident that once I graduated, I'd be able to land a job; or that I would like my job even if I landed a "good" one... just like everybody else. Sure, I had been a National Merit Scholar; but what is that other than a standardized test score? Is that sucess? I used to think so. I don't anymore, and that is mainly thanks to Gatto. According to Gatto, sucess on a standardized test is evidence that you have injured your own creativity. I'm still nothing compared to, say, Benjamin Franklin, or George Washington, or any of Gatto's many sucessful students. Do you know how much formal schooling each of them had? Do you know how young they were when they began living as adults? I'm not going to answer those questions for you. If you really want to know, the answers are easy enough to find. (Please - if I have any abilities at all to inspire people, take me up on this one, small, challenge. *waves hand of Jedi mind control*)
Yes, I was homeschooled, and I still think that was better than any of the modern, American mainstream alternatives. However, it was still patterned after the mainstream methods too much to be as effective as it could've been. But, I've reached this realization about my own "progress" (or lack thereof), and that in itself is an accomplishment. Had I been raised on Sesame Street , daycare, pre-school, and then followed one of the mainstream options all the way through, I don't think I could've come to this realization so easily (not that it was easy, even so). So, yes, I'm thankful to have been homeschooled. But, if and when I have children (according to Adrian that is going to be never, but my mom says my Dad used to say the same thing
), I want to give them a different "homeschooling" experience than what I received. Anyway, I think I had come to the conclusion - even before Gatto - that test scores, grades, etc, were more about compliance than brilliance. However, that little bit of wisdom didn't paint a very flattering picture of me (a toady is quite a step down from near-genius... why do I suddenly feel like Hook blubbering "I'm a codfish!"). Furthermore, I didn't get the feeling that anybody else would believe me if I went around spreading that idea. So, I kept it to myself, ignored it, etc. I've now come to the conclusion that compliance is a very feminine trait (and girls do tend to get better grades and go farther in school than boys). So, I guess I'm ok with knowing that I have a compliant personality. However, the question still remains, how much of my compliance is innate, and how much is forced?
Discalimer: I am not in any way meaning to discount the work of my parents in pursuing homeschooling. Given that they were both products of public schools, and were raised in pretty mainstream middle-class homes, it's only by the grace of God that I think they had the insight and fortitude to homeschool. I thank God that he allowed them that, otherwise I would be at least a generation behind where I am now.
Oh, and just because it kind-of ties in here, here is an old review I wrote of one of my favorite movies, GATTACA:
It was so cool when I took biology and realized that "GATTACA" is kind of like "QWERTY" in DNA code. Anyway, I think this movie is very sad. It should make us all think. In my opinion, our society already thinks like this, we just lack the technology to take it as far as the movie does. Why else would degrees and test scores and the like mean so much, even if you never actually work in the field you study and even if what you study in the classroom has little relevance to what you actually do in the field? Society cares about labels, not people. They care about perceived efficiency, not what actually works. Sometimes I think I identify with Jerome, mainly because I was a NMS. Consequently, as interesting as technology is, I feel little motivation to advance it given that I don't believe people can use it wisely.
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