Thank you for taking time to care for yourself. I noticed your absence yesterday because, I see you. I prayed over you yesterday and this morning. I'm praying for you now. Thank you also for continuing to unpack these days and times. Keep caring for yourself.
I imagine there has been a long standing strategic reason for eliminating / destroying America’s public education systems.
It started with Ronald Reagan- his administration was the first to implement the dismantling of robust public education. Back then in the 80’s it was defunding universities. Bush was pushing to privatize public education. Now it’s abolishing the federal department of education.
The things you are enumerating that should be stunning red flags to anyone and everyone- and certainly are alarming to us…are they being ignored by Americans with little exposure or access to education?
Why else would they not even be registering these actions by #47 as a threat to all citizen’s rights and freedoms? They can’t even see it for what it is? I don’t know. Just contorting my stress addled mind to try and make sense of all of it.
Hi Rebecca, you might enjoy(?) or find some explanation in a speech called the 7 lesson schoolteacher. There’s a ~ 40 min version on youtube. It resonated with me.
I did find a YouTube video of a person reading chapter one “the seven lessons of teaching” from John Taylor Gatto’s book, “Dumbing Us Down “ written by Gatto in 1992.
I can see some validity in his seven lessons which he sees as the “hidden” or covert intentions of public education.
He outlines the seven harmful lessons that limit student potential.
7. CONSTANT SURVEILLANCE (being monitored and controlled),
Gatto proposed that the over arching agenda of public education is intentionally designed to create a populace that will passively accept their place in society rather than actively engage in learning.
My thoughts 💭 and reactions to his theory is mixed. While I have plenty of my own critiques on and observations on public education, I found myself feeling that this viewpoint is a lot more cynical and frankly unbalanced. I’m not saying he is absolutely wrong in his assessment or assertions. I’m just not certain that he’s completely correct either.
I’m a product of K-12 Long Beach Unified Public School District, as are both of my now grown children. My mother and sister both taught elementary school in LBUSD.
There was PLENTY I loathed about my schooling. lots of consternation and frustration with my own kids school experience as well as my nephew who is a high functioning autistic person.
UGH! 😩 THERE IS ABSOLUTELY ATON OF WAYS TO IMPROVE AND HUMANIZE K-12 !!!!
I have certainly seen, and felt all of these darker more shadowy aspects Mr. Gatto described as in my own student experience, as a parent of students, as a close relative of teachers in the LBUSD school system and as a classroom volunteer through out my kids two kids school career. I have many close friends who teach in K-12 for LBUSD. So there are several intersections in which I have been involved with LBUSD, as well as Lakewood Unified, Garden Grove, and Altadena School Districts.
However- if I am honest - I also experienced and witnessed a great deal of the better more enjoyable, beneficial and truly transformative aspects of public education.
1. COOPERATION & COLLABORATION & COLLECTIVE PROBLEM SOLVING
2. SOCIAL SKILLS, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, & INCLUSION
3. CURIOSITY, FREE EXCHANGE & EXPOSURE TO A MULTIPLICITY OF SUBJECTS
4. OPPORTUNITIES TO PARTICIPATE IN ARTS, MUSIC, ATHLETICS. STUDENT BODY GOVERNMENT, LANGUAGES, DEBATE, PHILOSOPHY AND SERVICE CLUBS.
4. SELF ESTEEM, SELF EXPRESSION
5. APPRECIATION OF DIVERSITY
6. COMMUNITY & BELONGING
7. FINDING MY VOICE
8. CONFIDENCE & COMFORT WORKING WITH, AND BEING IN LARGE GROUPS.
9. PLAYING WITH PEERS
10. GROWING WITH A COHORT
11. A FEW TRULY GREAT TEACHERS
12. SOME LIFELONG FRIENDS
13. CREATIVITY
14. SUPPORT FOR & CELEBRATION OF MY UNIQUE TALENTS & ABILITIES
14. SUPPORT & SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS FOR MY AREAS OF ACADEMIC STRUGGLE
I became curious about Mr. Gatto himself. So I did some reading about him. He is beloved by Libertarians. been involved in an Evangelical Christian Documentary on indoctrination, and was a favorite philosopher of Presidential Candidate Ron Paul. Finally he is a privileged. white, Christian, Man and a politically self-described conservative who was raised in American White Privilege and Patriarchy. I’m wondering how those implicit biases are reflected in his perspective.
Thank you for taking time to care for yourself. I noticed your absence yesterday because, I see you. I prayed over you yesterday and this morning. I'm praying for you now. Thank you also for continuing to unpack these days and times. Keep caring for yourself.
I imagine there has been a long standing strategic reason for eliminating / destroying America’s public education systems.
It started with Ronald Reagan- his administration was the first to implement the dismantling of robust public education. Back then in the 80’s it was defunding universities. Bush was pushing to privatize public education. Now it’s abolishing the federal department of education.
The things you are enumerating that should be stunning red flags to anyone and everyone- and certainly are alarming to us…are they being ignored by Americans with little exposure or access to education?
Why else would they not even be registering these actions by #47 as a threat to all citizen’s rights and freedoms? They can’t even see it for what it is? I don’t know. Just contorting my stress addled mind to try and make sense of all of it.
Hi Rebecca, you might enjoy(?) or find some explanation in a speech called the 7 lesson schoolteacher. There’s a ~ 40 min version on youtube. It resonated with me.
I did find a YouTube video of a person reading chapter one “the seven lessons of teaching” from John Taylor Gatto’s book, “Dumbing Us Down “ written by Gatto in 1992.
I can see some validity in his seven lessons which he sees as the “hidden” or covert intentions of public education.
He outlines the seven harmful lessons that limit student potential.
1. CONFUSION a lack of coherent curriculum
2. CLASS POSITION ( (rigid hierarchy),
3. INDIFFERENCE (discouraging genuine interest),
4. EMOTIONAL DEPENDENCY (reliance teacher approval),
5. INTELLECTUAL DEPENDENCY intellectual dependency (not fostering critical thinking),
6. PROVISIONAL SELF ESTEEM (based on grades),
7. CONSTANT SURVEILLANCE (being monitored and controlled),
Gatto proposed that the over arching agenda of public education is intentionally designed to create a populace that will passively accept their place in society rather than actively engage in learning.
My thoughts 💭 and reactions to his theory is mixed. While I have plenty of my own critiques on and observations on public education, I found myself feeling that this viewpoint is a lot more cynical and frankly unbalanced. I’m not saying he is absolutely wrong in his assessment or assertions. I’m just not certain that he’s completely correct either.
I’m a product of K-12 Long Beach Unified Public School District, as are both of my now grown children. My mother and sister both taught elementary school in LBUSD.
There was PLENTY I loathed about my schooling. lots of consternation and frustration with my own kids school experience as well as my nephew who is a high functioning autistic person.
UGH! 😩 THERE IS ABSOLUTELY ATON OF WAYS TO IMPROVE AND HUMANIZE K-12 !!!!
I have certainly seen, and felt all of these darker more shadowy aspects Mr. Gatto described as in my own student experience, as a parent of students, as a close relative of teachers in the LBUSD school system and as a classroom volunteer through out my kids two kids school career. I have many close friends who teach in K-12 for LBUSD. So there are several intersections in which I have been involved with LBUSD, as well as Lakewood Unified, Garden Grove, and Altadena School Districts.
However- if I am honest - I also experienced and witnessed a great deal of the better more enjoyable, beneficial and truly transformative aspects of public education.
1. COOPERATION & COLLABORATION & COLLECTIVE PROBLEM SOLVING
2. SOCIAL SKILLS, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, & INCLUSION
3. CURIOSITY, FREE EXCHANGE & EXPOSURE TO A MULTIPLICITY OF SUBJECTS
4. OPPORTUNITIES TO PARTICIPATE IN ARTS, MUSIC, ATHLETICS. STUDENT BODY GOVERNMENT, LANGUAGES, DEBATE, PHILOSOPHY AND SERVICE CLUBS.
4. SELF ESTEEM, SELF EXPRESSION
5. APPRECIATION OF DIVERSITY
6. COMMUNITY & BELONGING
7. FINDING MY VOICE
8. CONFIDENCE & COMFORT WORKING WITH, AND BEING IN LARGE GROUPS.
9. PLAYING WITH PEERS
10. GROWING WITH A COHORT
11. A FEW TRULY GREAT TEACHERS
12. SOME LIFELONG FRIENDS
13. CREATIVITY
14. SUPPORT FOR & CELEBRATION OF MY UNIQUE TALENTS & ABILITIES
14. SUPPORT & SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS FOR MY AREAS OF ACADEMIC STRUGGLE
I became curious about Mr. Gatto himself. So I did some reading about him. He is beloved by Libertarians. been involved in an Evangelical Christian Documentary on indoctrination, and was a favorite philosopher of Presidential Candidate Ron Paul. Finally he is a privileged. white, Christian, Man and a politically self-described conservative who was raised in American White Privilege and Patriarchy. I’m wondering how those implicit biases are reflected in his perspective.