Wednesday Book Review

In light of my recent post about education in America, I want to recommend a book that I have really enjoyed over the years. A Different Kind of Teacher, written by John Taylor Gatto. I read this book for the first time quite a few years ago when Mr. Gatto was interviewed by Mary Pride in her Practical Homeschooling Magazine. He had a lot to say in that interview about education reform, and I picked up the book.

John Taylor Gatto was awarded New York State Teacher of the Year three consecutive years in a row, and then he wrote a short essay entitled "I May Be a Teacher, but I'm Not an Educator." This short essay was printed in the Wall Street Journal on July 25, 1991. Soon after the publication of this essay, Mr. Gatto resigned from his position in a New York City public school and is now among the most "penetrating, wise, irritating, informed, provocative, and prophetic" voices in the debate over education reform in our country.

This book is a collection of short essays and speeches that Mr. Gatto wrote between 1990 and 1999. He has a very blunt and straightforward style of writing and speaking, so some of what he says comes across a little harsh. However, I think that the things he says are worth taking into consideration, especially if you have children in our public education system, but also if you are a teacher in the system or simply if you care about education reform at all. As a home schooler, I have picked up a lot of tips from Mr. Gatto about the difference in "school" and "education" and how I can better help my own children to be deep thinkers.

This book is chock full of statistics and numbers and references so that you can truly get an accurate grasp on what is happening within our schools today. You can check these stats out and prove to yourself that they are true and accurate. He also gives a great overview of the origination of public education, where and why is started. It will make you think twice about playing a part in the continuation of it.

It would be better suited to another post for me to philosophize on my own thoughts and opinions regarding Mr. Gatto's beliefs about education vs "school." I will leave you with a straightforward list of some of the quotes that I have underlined in my copy of the book. It is available at amazon.com or at your local bookstore.

"Education matters, of course, but only flim flam artists try to convince you that school and education are the same thing."

"The assertion that isolation chambers for the young and the old are an advance in human society doesn't square with any observed reality."

"After you fall into the habit of accepting what other people tell you to think, you lose the power to think for yourself. I suspect that is why so few of us challenge the premises of old-age home and schools."

"Real knowledge has to be earned by hard and painful thinking; it can't be generated in group discussions or group therapies, but only in lonely sessions with yourself."