| Another bit of fiction we weave into our children's' | | | | thought I abhorred the text books in the public |
| lives calling it 'school' is the physical environment | | | | schools, until I had to use the text books in the |
| through which they pass the years of their | | | | Christian school and found them even worse. |
| childhood. | | | | I ask my students, what are the absolutely worst |
| We place them in huge, ugly warehouses, isolated | | | | books in the entire world? The answer I get back |
| from all other people and all real-world | | | | from them (because I told them the answer) is |
| productivity. These warehouses are filled with | | | | history text books. What a terrible anti-history |
| noisy, pushy children who are no more needed | | | | way to learn the fascinating drama of human life |
| than our own children. They spend their hours in | | | | upon this planet. |
| windowless rooms, white-walled cubes, fifty | | | | I teach writing. I use the composition text for one |
| minutes, then a bell, then a quick rush through | | | | purpose - to show them how not to write. I ask |
| hallways of confusion during which they are | | | | them, "How many of you have written a |
| 'supposed' to use the restroom, crowds of kids, all | | | | 'persuasive' essay?" They think they didn't |
| at the same time, all going in different directions. | | | | because they don't remember, even though they |
| Then another fifty minutes in another isolated | | | | do it every year. Then I ask them, "How many |
| cube. And so on. | | | | people took action, changed their lives, did |
| Life is ruled by bells, by strict time periods, by | | | | something different, as a result of being |
| separated and unrelated rooms, by chopped up | | | | persuaded by your persuasive essay?" The |
| and unrelated activities. | | | | answer to that one is easy - no one. |
| There is no growing things, nor raising animals; no | | | | Then I ask them the obvious question, "If no one |
| changing diapers, nor putting a good meal on the | | | | was persuaded to take action by your |
| table. The children don't even clean the school | | | | 'persuasive' essay, was it a persuasive essay?" |
| they themselves messed up. There is no building | | | | They quickly learn to chime "NO it was not!" |
| of things or fixing things or running things. And if | | | | Then I toss the book back on the shelf and |
| there is, they are always in a 'constructed' | | | | proceed to teach them how to persuade people |
| environment and never for real. | | | | to take action by the words that they craft. |
| John Gatto explains in The Underground History of | | | | As homeschool families, we should not think for |
| American Education how and why and who | | | | one minute that we have to follow any aspect of |
| developed this warehouse - assembly line system | | | | what is called "education" in our culture. We should |
| we call schooling. It is not an accident and it | | | | make learning fit the real needs of our families |
| serves a very real purpose. | | | | and communities. |
| Is this what we want for our own children? | | | | Learning ought to be real and it ought to produce |
| As a teacher rooted in real world thinking [and I | | | | that which is valued and that which works in the |
| do say all these things to my students, by the | | | | real world. |
| way], I have a great dislike of textbooks. I | | | | |