May 14, 2007

Sometimes I like to go surfing for John Taylor Gatto quotes:

"Understand that total schooling is psychologically and procedurally unsound. Give children some private time and private space, some choice of subjects, methods, and even of the company they keep. If that sounds like a college, it is meant to. Human beings, including children, need freedom from constant surveillance and tabulation. Keep from numbering, ranking, and labeling kids so the human being can't be seen under the weight of the numbers. This is a stupid and cynical use of authority. Stop it.

Children who can think critically and have some privacy can generate much of their own curriculum and self-monitor, too. That is the record Ben Franklin set down so eloquently in his famous Autobiography. Time to make that required reading again"

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Great quote. I love the part where he says, "Stop it." It has a rather charming mix of plerplexity and frustration.

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