“Sixty-five years ago Bertrand Russell, probably the greatest mathematician of this century, its greatest philosopher, and a close relation of the King of England to boot, saw that mass-schooling in the United States had a profoundly anti-democratic intent, that it was a scheme to artificially deliver national unity by eliminating human variation and by eliminating the forge that produces varation: the family. According to Lord Russell, mass-schooling produced a recognizably American student: anti-intellectual, superstitious, lacking self-confidence, and with less of what Russell called ‘inner freedom’ than his or her counterpart in any other nation he knew of, past or present. These schooled children became citizens, he said, with a thin ‘mass character,’ holding excellence and aesthestics equally in contempt, inadequate to the personal crises of their lives.” (John Taylor Gatto, Dumbing Us Down, pp. 77-78)
This is a pretty scathing critique, but I can’t find any fault with it. What do you think?
Mary Jo
Sounds pretty accurate to me. My goodness, you cant find any efficiency or work ethic in most places these days. From ordering a salad at the local diner to trying to get someone to file insurance papers. Makes my blood boil. We however, arent playing their game. Thankfully.
I have that John Taylor Gatto book on my shelf. I was astonished as I read it, at how accurate the whole thing was, especially since we had just come from five years in the public school system.
I don’t think it’s as easy for people who are entrenched in the system to see, though, as it is for us outside.
You have a very thought-provoking blog! Thanks.