Michelle+Remmett+RP+Post+5

I’ve been researching how the formal education system works, its impact on the children in the system, along with the benefits and negatives and its place in society. That is all somehow going to be condensed into one coherent question- eventually. The two sides of the research are complete opposites, but surprisingly enough there’s more information on why school is bad than why school is good (hint hint). On one hand , I’ve got articles of John Gatto who is completely against formal education and on the other hand,  I have much less personal educational sites all for it. Gatto argues  education stunts children, as they are trained extremely well in the dependency lesson, and  I agree because I see it every single day in nearly every classroom (“The Six-Lesson Schoolteacher” 1). Gatto insists  in his other piece I’ve read that children in school have self esteem dependent on authority, like teachers, which is extremely unhealthy for them emotionally (“Against School”). That’s just the beginning of how children are kept from growing- there’s a lack of creativity, free thought, independence, maturity, everything! However, Gatto contradicts himself. At the same time he argues  in Against School he tries to improve the classroom, in The Six-Lesson Schoolteacher he implies that he has given up and accepted what his job really does. Americans today tend to believe formal schooling is their best, and only, option. One source even goes as far as to say, “few people would question the need for a formal education system that is accessible for everyone” (Formal Education and its Place in Society 1). The same source also says school is used to give citizens basic functioning skills, which means we all have at least the same base for our thoughts, and therefore are more easily manageable. But, Oak claims this is useful, as it prepares us for social interactions in the future. According to him (her?), formal education sets the base for society.  So I have these two very contradictory views, which don’t usually seem to come in contact with each other- none of them really put in “naysayers”. School is either really good or really bad (yes, I know, very sophisticated vocabulary) depending on who is asked.