On Sat, 30 Aug 2003, [EMAIL PROTECTED] went: > The latest issue of Harper's has an article by John Gatto, a former > NYC teacher of the year, which is a serious indictment of American > public education.
Is this the same article I found here <http://www.spinninglobe.net/againstschool.htm>? For someone who criticizes public schools for having taught us "not to think," Gatto seems hypocritically willing to rest his case on appeals to authority ("We have, for example, the great H. L. Mencken"), on dubious argument from dubious anecdote ("we don't bat an eye when Ari Fleischer tells us to 'be careful what you say'"--uh, don't we?), on unsupported assertions ("as in 'your permanent record.' Yes, you do have one"), and on empty rhetoric ("It's perfectly obvious from our society today"; "that really is cause for concern"). My politics are such that I was primed to agree with the points Gatto tries to make. But he hasn't turned in passable work here. He's published a very rough first draft. --David Epstein [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
