Summary and Thesis

Summary
In John Gatto's article "Against School", Gatto questions the belief that a forced school system is necessary to ensure an education .Surely the works of such people as Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln,etc. are remarkable, yet they were never educated in a school system. He stresses that education is a definite necessity, but the deadly routine of "six classes a day, five days a week, nine months a year, for twelve years" is not 'education', but rather 'schooling'. To give students a better education Gatto suggests that school be more flexible and allow kids to learn through their curiosity and adventure. He discusses the reasons why America claims a school system is important which are"1) to make good people, 2) to make good citizens, [and] 3) to make each person his or her personal best,"but he believes that the schools don't quite achieve this mission. He discusses his belief that the reasoning for why schools are the way they are today is because the government is trying to suppress our intellect rather than encourage our genius to be sure that we remain like children, manageable.

Thesis
The school system does need to be more flexible and allow kids to receive an education in a more interesting way than just consuming information from the teachers, but a school system is the only way that we can ensure that all get at least an equal opportunity for education.