John Gatto’s “Against School” is a persuasive essay arguing both the ineffectiveness and negative outcomes of today’s public school system. Not only does Gatto provide credibility with his experience as a teacher, but he also presents evidence that suggests that the public school system is an outdated structure, originally meant to dumb down students as well as program them to be obedient pawns in society. Fact and authority alone do not supplement his argument. Gatto also uses emotional appeals
Merriam-Webster Dictionary, school is defined as “an organization that provides instruction.” Furthermore, individuals should realize that being schooled is not acceptable, for being schooled is simply knowing how something works instead of knowing why. Moreover, Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines education as, “the knowledge, skill, and understanding that you get from attending a school, college, or university.” Education is something that all individuals should strive for, but schools simply will not allow
and John Gatto that American culture is dominated by uninformed citizens who are the product of compulsory schools and the manipulation of mass media. This idea forms a dialectic between citizens who believe everything they read, and sources of media who profit off of their ignorance. The elaborate framing devices used by mass media go unnoticed when public schools mold students into consumers who are not taught to question their sources. An argument made by Gatto in his essay, “Against School” is
to bring better education into schools, when those corporations are actually feeding subliminal messages and advertisements