Life & Learning

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I hated school, not learning, but the way public school lacked any creative approach to teaching and learning learning. Memorization appeared to be what was taught, regurgitating what you memorized and if you forgot immediately after, it made little difference to anyone. The supposition was if it was memorized, it was learned. Stream lining and reducing everyone to the lowest common denominator was the goal. There was never any sense of the individual being nutured, or encouraging creative thought. On CBC radio a few years ago, I'd heard John Taylor Gatto lecture on the program Ideas. He had been a teacher for 25 years in the New York school system, and had been awarded teacher of the year, for the state of New York. In his book, Dumbing Us Down, he writes from his experience as a teacher, about what works and doesn't work in the public school system. I have listed the seven lessons learned in public school which he explains in his book, and clarifies these ideas about the public system for me. 1.Confusion 2.Class position 3.Indifference 4.Emotional dependency 5.Intellectual dependency 6.Provisional self-esteem 7.One can't hide I would love to hear what others thoughts and experiences are about school and learning. His web site can be found with a engine search for www.Johntaylorgatto.com I hope you check it out for yourself and let my know your thoughts. Namaste