John Taylor Gatto's Against School

Frederick Douglass is a slave who is motivated to learn to read and write. When he is a child, Douglass’s mistress teaches him the alphabet. As time goes on, his owners realize he is becoming too smart, and they put a stop to his learning. According to Douglass, “If I was in a separate room any considerable length of time, I was sure to be suspected of having a book, and was at once called to an account of myself.” Because of this, Douglass has to sneak in his studying time. While running errands, Douglass goes to the street and receives lessons from children on there. He learns to write from observing men at Bailey’s ship-yard. Douglass also learns he is too smart for his own good. When he is alone, he copies from his master's copy book and

Throughout his essay, he is consistently trying to convince/persuade us to reject public school as a whole while taking control of our kids education. He states that “school trains children to be employees and consumers; teach your own to be leaders and adventurers”(Gatto). He wants parents to take the lead in helping their children become as great as they can be, they can work a job that may have not been invented yet. Gatto is trying to prove that school doesn’t do anything for children. He then proceeds to give a list of people who didn’t go to school yet they in time became successful, such as: Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington,

What is school really trying to do with our lives? The article “Against School” by John Taylor Gatto is an article that talks about the problem of schools and how the goals are not what they say they are. First. the author talks about how the school system creates boredom and what could be done to fix it. He then talks about how school is not needed in its required class times, what the schools say the goals are for the students, and where our school system originated from. Next, he talks about who helped create the system we use today, and what the goals are for the schools in 6 functions. Finally, he talked about how the schools teach students to perform certain tasks in the future, how mandatory schooling made students not think about what

Henry Wadworth Longfellow, and American poet from the 1800s, said, “Men of genius are often dull and inert in society; as the blazing meteor, when it descends to earth, is only a stone.” This concept I explained by, Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers. He devotes chapters three and four to discussing “The Trouble with Geniuses.” The theory he outlines in this section of the book discusses how much of a factor high intelligent quotient is in determining success, versus how important upbringing is. He examines geniuses, who are commonly considered “the true outliers,” and their successes. Gladwell wrote these chapters with the purpose of persuading his target audience, and wrote with them in mind. He contextualizes his arguments for the readers

Through most of my adolescent years, reading books and writing my thoughts took patience that I lacked and a desire my mind could not want for. But as the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20. I know now that we are fortunate to have the opportunities to learn to read and write at such a young age. We are willingly and eagerly taught by our families, friends, neighbors, and teachers at school. But I find myself wondering, what about those that were not so lucky? People like Frederick Douglass, a slave in the 1800 's who had to use unusual means to learn the standard education that is awarded today. Even though we grew up worlds apart, in time and place, I come to find I have much more in common with him than I would have ever expected.

Many of us take education for granted and don’t learn to our fullest potential, but Fredrick Douglass soaked in every piece of information up because he knew it was his way out. “Learning to Read and Write” is a famous article based on what Fredrick Douglass went through to earn a valuable education while being enslaved. Author Fredrick Douglass, wrote “Learning to Read and Write”, published in 1845. Throughout the article, he takes us through different events he goes through while being enslaved. Douglass begins building his credibility with personal facts and successfully demonstrating logic and pathos appeal.

Alexie thought that him learning how to read made him smart and he was very proud of doing so. Alexie had all the books in his father’s house. Alexie had positive outlooks. After he learned, he wanted to teach other Indian boys. He was strong mentally with his abilities.

In many countries living in extremely poor conditions, not only is basic health an issue but also the lack of education. Although it is a necessity, “more than 72 million children of primary education age are not in school and 759 million adults are illiterate” (Rights to Education 1). The deprivation of education should be taken serious if a change is wanted. People need to become aware of how important education is and the benefit that it has. Douglas and Malala struggled to gain an education in order to resist control by others, which affected their lives in multiple ways; however, they were able to reveal the value of education to all.

People usually draw an outline before they write the final essay. The outline is used to organize their thoughts and claim their thesis statement. Even the final essay is written based on the outline, it is much more complicated than the outline. Writers spend lots of time modifying every sentence they write to make the final essay looks better. In my view, people have the same perspectives in both tradition and reconstruction period. The only difference between these two periods is that blacks start to take action not only in their works, but also in their actual life fighting for what they want, freedom and equity, in the Harlem Renaissance.

Frederick Douglass believes America has been altered by a mass hysteria, slavery, thus affecting its ideals, values, culture, practices, or myths. At the time, no one knew better when it came to slavery. In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Douglass depicts certain instances where he exploits the American perspective of slavery rather than challenging it.

By using strong textual evidence from multiple sources, there is an argument that can be proven. The power of education in “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" is one of the most important themes in the entire work, but it is not a theme with a consistent meaning. Although Frederick Douglass understands that the only path to freedom, both for himself and fellow slaves, is through learning to read, write, and have an educational base to build on, he is at the same time disgusted with education because it causes him to understand the full extent of the horrors of slavery. At one point, Douglass states, “It [education] opened my eyes to the horrible pit, but offered no ladder upon which to get out." With this important quote, having examined the meaning and importance of education in “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass." Douglass explains his claim by providing more in depth idea of what it means to have education not only does it provide a path to freedom, but it also opens the eyes to the horrors around. This example which proves no one can be enslaved if she or he has the ability to read, write, or think only strengthens the

contemplations about it. Frederick Douglass, for instance, uses numerous rhetorical strategies to convey his views about education in his excerpt “Learning to Read and Write”. He believes that learning to read and write is a privilege that a person ought to have regardless of social class. Education gives a prospect for people to be self-aware and to have a sense of identification. Douglass suggests that although many limitations prevent people from reaching their goals, one will prosper as long as they have their mind set on succeeding.

In “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave”, Frederick Douglass emphasizes the importance of education in empowering the oppressed and ending discrimination. He accomplishes this by outlining his struggle to freedom through education. Frederick Douglass believed that all people are created equal, but also believed that we weren't just born free, we have to make ourselves into who we are. Giving this, education and self-improvement were incredibly important to him.

Our family can only eat whatever we grow on a small plot of land located a short way from our house. We have no other form of income so if we are unable to pick anything to eat from the land we go without food on that day. This happens a lot and we regularly go several days without any food at all. When we do pick vegetables from the land it’s very rarely enough for the whole family to be fed so my husband and I have to decide who will eat that day. You can see my younger children crying a lot, it’s because they are so hungry.”“The only source of water for our family is a shallow well situated near to our field. The water is very dirty and the children regularly get sick

The benefit and purpose of school is to gain new knowledge and socialize with other people. The importance of school is taken to consideration as it helps you to meet the grades that you need to go further in life, and the skills/knowledge that can be accomplished and improved. School opens up a lot of opportunities for young people because it is the one place where they go to get new life skills and experience. School is somewhere where young people are able to practice their techniques/learning and form social bonds with other students.