Thanks, Kat, for reminding me about this beautiful essay. I had not read it in a long time, but today was perfect. John Taylor Gatto, an award winning teacher, speaks eloquently about the true lessons of school. School is not designed to educate as much as it is to institutionalize us into obedient consumers and to follow the lead of others rather than take the more challenging and rewarding path of finding our own strengths and making our best contributions to the community. His words are inspiring to those of us who seek to foster creativity and critical thinking in our own families by schooling our children at home. Or not schooling them, as the case may be. My husband once asked me how on earth we could expect our children to make wise, informed decisions as adults after twelve to twenty years of doing as they are told. It is a question I often ponder when listening to discussions of how to improve the schools.
http://www.cantrip.org/gatto.html
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