Let me start by saying that I like listening to the most radical and extreme views, and I myself try to think as radical, irrational, or extreme as I can. Additionally, it is also wise to think rationally, and sound (middle) as an intellectual exercise that covers all the basis of possibilities. The reason is that we take for granted the changes that have occurred because of “radicals” “extremists” and “heretics” of the past who’ve made change possible.
Consider a radical group in their time, the abolitionists fighting to end slavery in America. Today we would think that it was “common sense” that slavery was and is still wrong. Although, in the past, it was not common sense or found in the “wisdom of the crowd” that slavery was an injustice and inhumane. The system was only finally abolished after social unrest, wars, protests, civil disobedience, and the dissent of the crowd.
You will find famous philosophers as far back as antiquity who have rationalized and justified slavery, which took several millennia to break out of that mold and cause a paradigm shift. Indeed, radical/populist unethical people like Adolf Hitler will sacrifice others for the greater good (their version of good intentions), which is not ideal. But many radical morally good people sacrificed themselves for the greater good like Martin Luther King Jr.
“Philosophy is to be studied, not for the sake of any definite answers to its questions, since no definite answers can, as a rule, be known to be true, but rather for the sake of the questions themselves; because these questions enlarge our conception of what is possible, enrich our intellectual imagination, and diminish the dogmatic assurance which closes the mind against speculation; but above all because, through the greatness of the universe which philosophy contemplates, the mind also is rendered great, and becomes capable of that union with the universe which constitutes its highest good.”Bertrand Russell
The award for the biggest critic of the American public education system has to go to John Taylor Gatto. He was one among others before him who popularized the notion that the American public school system (primarily K-12) main objective was to produce a churning of indefinite future factory workers and employees for corporations and for the elites as opposed to producing self-reliant citizens. He traced American education to its first industrialized form in Prussia (then Germany), which was a militarized top-down version of schooling with successful and effective results until it was an indirect factor that led to the unfortunate and unintended consequences of the rise of Nazi German soldiers at the whims of a fierce dictator.
Gatto in his talks and book gives the impression that kids moving along classrooms in a disciplinary manner with alarm bells and being told what to do, like in psychology with Pavlov’s dog experiment, is to condition them to be dependent, and conform to societal norms and expectations hence remain childlike as adults. It’s a thought-provoking claim and in some ways true, but a half-truth. He spent the latter part of his life being critical of compulsory education right after he quit his teaching position out of sheer frustration. He suggests it’s impossible to reform or change the system, hence why he advocated for home-schooling and kids pursuing their interests. He quit while at the pinnacle of his career teaching underprivileged kids in Spanish Harlem (Washington Heights) with admirable success.
His books like, “The Underground History of American Education” and “Dumbing Us Down” may have many accurate historical references and bring up great points, but one can find examples that also rebut his arguments just by looking at real-world examples of people like Ray Dalio who went through his whole life through public school. Gatto’s philosophy would be considered a classic liberal, or a middle-of-the-road libertarian, compared to someone like Noam Chomsky who is closer to a left-libertarian/anarchist.
Another radical in my view is Terence Mckenna. Both Mckenna and John Taylor Gatto grew up around the same period and were alive during an explosive time in the 1960s (counter-culture, and civil rights movement, etc.) where it seems all ideas were put on the table, and were critically examined and tested. These two have similar philosophies but are cut from different cloths. Mckenna leans more as an anarchist and far more open-minded due to in large part his experimentation with psychedelics and insatiable curiosity. There’s no doubt Gatto was one of the best teachers America has ever produced, and Mckenna one of its most underrated minds. It’s important to bear in mind those who are radicals, who are usually very critical and passionate on a topic such as education. I have tremendous respect for Gatto for speaking out and speaking from his heart about what he believes to be true even if it is biased. Nonetheless, it’s his right to be biased since he’s biased from personal experience. Of course, he’s allowed to listen to other points of view to see reality from different perspectives, and thus a more accurate representation, and not solely from his perception of reality only.
To rehash some good points I found a blogger say of Gatto,
“John Taylor Gatto’s “Against School” paints a very morbid picture of the American school system. Gatto’s description of the school system sounds more like the description of a prison or a sweatshop than a school. I think that he distorts reality quite a bit, in that he only focuses on the negative aspects of the schooling system, and he tends to over-exaggerate those deficiencies. So while Gatto does offer some reasonable criticism of the American school system, he also displays some bias against it, and doesn’t necessarily paint the entire picture for the reader.”
For more references on the topic to delve deeper:
https://www.naturalchild.org/articles/guest/john_gatto.html
A truth seeker first and foremost. I’m not afraid to plunge down the rabbit hole and I’m curious about everything. Knowledge gives you power, and with that power, you must use it wisely. Reading, thinking, and writing are how I exercise my mind. “Keep your heart warm, eyes sharp, brain keen, and mind open.”
Originally published at http://thephilosopherinme.wordpress.com on April 26, 2023.
Social Scholarly 