And Contrast John Gatto's Ideas On The American Education System

Many people of all ages have different views on education. In the following essay I will compare two authors’ ideas on the educational system in America. I will share my thoughts from the essays titled “Against School” by John Gatto and “I Just Wanna Be Average” by Mike Rose and how they relate to my experiences and schools today. The essay by John Gatto is a writing explaining why the author is against the American educational system and he points out its numerous flaws. Gatto’s essay explains that schools are “boring” for both students and teachers because the routine never changes. The schools force the same education down students throats no matter if they will become a nuclear physicist or work in a mobile home factory. The schools attempt to bring the students together by making them alike. The students take these mandatory classes that have nothing to do with what they want to do as they grow older, so the students “get bored”. I must say I tend to agree with Gatto’s thinking in his essay. I do believe that the educational system has its flaws, however, I do believe those flaws are greater in secondary education more than post-secondary education.
In this essay Rose grows to become a fan of school after just doing enough to get by like the rest of the students. Rose did not want to conform to the social norm of his peers and just be average. He wanted to go above and beyond the rest, although he did not want to show it for fear of being made fun of by fellow students. Roses life changed when Jack MacFarland came into his life. MacFarland was a teacher of Mike’s who challenged him to become better. By this I mean the extent of MacFarland’s knowledge made Rose want to learn more and want to better his life. Due to the inspiration of one teacher, Rose succeeded in school and became a very successful