"Schooling as we know it, is a powerful expression of the sickness of this society, not a cure for that sickness. While the myth lives, we will never revive the libertarian America most of us prefer in place of the present empire." -- John Taylor Gatto, on The Fourth Purpose

Gatto is the author of The Underground History of American Education, a book I want to read soon. I stumbled upon Gatto's site for The Fourth Purpose recently -- which looks like it will become an important documentary about some of the absurdities in compulsory schooling in America. I happen to teach Gatto's article, "The Seven Lesson Schoolteacher" in my Freshman Comp course ("Thinking and Writing"), and it always generates stimulating discussion. Gatto is good at getting right to the problems inherent with the socializing function of mandatory schooling.

Anyway, I'm writing to highly recommend Gatto's article from Harper's magazine last September, called "Against School: How public education cripples our kids, and why". Essentially, he argues that school works to keep students childish and therefore pliant to the powers of consumer culture.

Another great portal into Gatto's cultural project is available at Spinning Globe.

So what is 'the fourth purpose'? Gatto explains that schools traditionally have three purposes: 1) To make good people; 2) To make good citizens; 3) To make each student find some particular talents to develop as best they can. These, of course, are all fine. But eventually, under the influence of Taylorist thinking, schools became socialization factories which serve a fourth purpose: to make students the servants of corporate and political management. Naturally, he takes issue with this and a great deal of what I think we do in a liberal education college is open students eyes to the ways that they have been socially programmed (to some degree, we all are... I'm not talking X-Files conspiracy theory here). Socialization serves many values, but in the wrong hands it can backfire. That mismanagement, I think, is what Gatto is out to unveil.

Related Note: Fox News plans to air a significant news special: "Breaking Point: The Education Crisis in America," on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 9 p.m. ET. Highly recommended!

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