you're in the education field, right? dunno if you read Harper's but there is a rather inflammatory article this month called "Against School: How Public Education Cripples Our Kids, and Why." i'm not sure if his argument totally holds water (and a lot of it sonds like the bitter memories of a retired teacher), but i gotta say, he's got enough there to make me stop and think.

here's the article:
http://www.spinninglobe.net/againstschool.htm

Thanks for bringing the article to my attention. I'd not seen it, though I'm familiar with Gatto and have heard him speak. He was actually State Teacher of the Year (and I think city teacher of the year, as well). He's a supporter of home schooling and does bring up a lot of relevant issues; however, I agree with you that many of his reactions do sound like "bitter memories of a retired teacher."

There are two things at play here, at least from my perspective. The first is being a veteran teacher in the New York City public school system. It's not fun. It ain't pretty. You hear that a lot. It does, however, depend on where you are and what kind of person you are. I have a dear friend who teaches in a tough District 5 (Region 10) Central Harlem school. Many would not be able to stomach it...but she does, and very much loves it.

After several years of working with teachers throughout the city, I've gathered a lot of perspectives. Of the veteran (over 15 years of experience-- that's my definition) teachers, many are just burned out. It's not necessarily the schools, the administration, or the kids that do it-- it's the system. This hulking, inefficient system. Bloomberg and Klein like to believe that they can fix it by moving from 110 Livingston to Tweed Hall (which historically has a pretty bad karma, as well) and mandating a massive reorganization and change of curriculum simultaneously-- which is proven method of failure.

Gatto also bases his arguments on historical contexts, noting that our current society wants to believe that our children need more and more education (in a typical school), however what they really need are lessons on how to be people, and educated in different ways that aren't necessarily found in a classroom and curriculum. He posits that, throughout American history, children never attended school for as long and still turned into productive and contributing members of society.

What he doesn't cite is that, depending on the period, we were an agrarian and/or industrialized nation, where children were either pulled from school to work the farm or left to provide for the family in a factory, etc. No, not everyone as expected to go to high school. Not very many went to college-- it wasn't until the 60's and 70's that college became a "requirement" for all. This is an old argument-- Locke v Rousseau-- and both sides do have merit, to some extend. But the bottom line is that people today, in our society, really do require at the very least a HS diploma in order to advance up the typical workplace/financial ladder.

Phew, Jimmylegs. I'm sorry to vent like this! I guess that I could go on and on.

Do I think that the NYC school system can be fixed? Yes and no. It's like the Long Island Expressway. Bits and pieces can be fixed all of the time, but in the process, other major arteries deteriorate. Lots of people get to where they need to go quickly and happily. But a whole lot of other people get fucked in the process.

yeah, the situation has changed quite a bit since the old days, and i guess there's something seductive about dismantling the whole system (a 'clean slate', as it were). it just seems unfortunate that public school teachers need nerves of steel just to get through their syllabii or whatever. i've known PS teachers in ohio and i dunno how they did it, let alone the ones in the big bad city.

It definitely takes a certain type of person to teach. After all, kids are kids. 8 hours a day with any kid can be trying, let alone 30 of 'em.