Readings on Education and Learning

John Taylor Gatto, “Against School”

Reading Questions:

1. Study Gatto’s introduction (the first five paragraphs) and his conclusion (the last two paragraphs). In the introduction, what strategies does he use to get readers’ attention, communicate the importance of his topic, and establish his own credibility? In the conclusion, what strategies does he use to end his essay convincingly?
2. Gatto argues that “education” is often confused with “schooling.” What are the important distinctions between them, according to Gatto? Why is “schooling” in particular so problematic?

Writing Questions:

1. Be sure that you have accessed the pdf version of Gatto’s article, which includes two color illustrations from its original publication in Harper’s Magazine. Compose an Analysis Essay that explains the rhetorical features of these two images. What argument are they making, and how do they make it? How do the images illustrate or enhance Gatto’s claims?
2. One of Gatto’s sources is a 1918 book by Alexander Inglis called Principles of Secondary Education. Inglis argues that schooling has six basic functions: the adjustive/adaptive, the integrating, the diagnostic/directive, the differentiating, the selective, and the propaedeutic. Gatto believes that modern schooling still fulfills all of these functions. Compose an Analysis Essay that puts Gatto’s argument to the test by using one or more of these functions to analyze your own schooling experience. Focus on specific features or events from your secondary education that you can describe and analyze in detail for your reader. In what ways does Gatto’s claim hold up (or not) when you consider the evidence of your own schooling?

Nikole Hannah-Jones, “School Segregation, the Continuing Tragedy of Ferguson”

Reading Questions:

1. This essay presents the idea that segregation in schools is deeply interconnected with a variety of other aspects of society. According to Hannah-Jones, what are some of the key causes of segregation? What are some of the effects that education segregation has on individuals and their communities?
2. Hannah-Jones uses a variety of evidence including personal stories, historical facts, photos, and graphics to support her central claim. Select two specific pieces of evidence from the text and discuss their effectiveness. Did the inclusion of this evidence make the argument more or less convincing? Explain your reasoning.

Writing Questions:

1. Nikole Hannah-Jones has been quoted as saying, “Segregation is such a permanent fixture in the American landscape that it often can go unnoticed in our daily lives…But segregation for many people is not merely accidental or a personal preference; it is harmful” (Hannah-Jones). As such, one of Hannah-Jones’s central purposes in this essay is to engage her audience to consider a widespread issue more deeply. Write a Summary and Response Essay in which you summarize the claims Hannah-Jones makes in “School Segregation, the Continuing Tragedy of Ferguson” and develop a response by describing your considerations after reading. What elements of the article do you agree and/or disagree with? In what ways have you seen segregation go noticed and/or unnoticed? What do you think individuals, communities, and other stakeholders might do to achieve progress on this issue despite the various roadblocks described in the article?
2. Compose a Synthesis Essay in which you bring this article into conversation with Nick Hanauer (“Education Isn’t Enough”), Jonathan Kozol (“Overcoming Apartheid”), and/or Sean F. Reardon, Jane Waldfogel, and Daphna Bassok (“The Good News about Educational Inequality”). All of these writers are writing about the impacts of inequality in America’s education system. Your essay should summarize and draw connections between Hannah-Jones and one or more of these sources, and you should use them to support your own argument about this topic.

Anna Quindlen, “Doing Nothing Is Something”

Reading Questions:

1. As well as a columnist and opinion writer, Quindlen is a novelist. How does she use the strategies of a creative writer (storytelling, interesting descriptions, an entertaining voice, etc.) to make her ideas convincing in this article?
2. Who do you think Quindlen is writing to and how do you know? Are they likely to be convinced by her argument?

Writing Questions:

1. Compose a Summary and Response Essay in which you summarize Quindlen’s article, including her claim, main ideas, and most important examples. Then, respond to what she says about the importance of boredom and free time. How much are these things a part of your own life (during childhood or now) and what value do you see in them? How do your opinions and experiences line up (or not) with Quindlen’s observations?
2. Compose a Synthesis Essay in which you bring this article into conversation with Amy Chua (“Why Chinese Mothers are Superior”), Mark Edmundson (“Education’s Hungry Hearts”), and/or John Taylor Gatto (“Against School”). All of these writers are trying to figure out what motivates people–especially young people–to learn. Your essay should summarize and draw connections between these sources, and you should use them to support your own argument about how best to encourage learning.

Alina Tugend, “Vocation or Exploration? Pondering the Purpose of College”

Reading Questions:

1. How does Tugend establish her own credibility (ethos) in this article? How does she establish the credibility of the various sources that she uses to support her ideas?
2. Tugend incorporates information from her sources in various ways. At different times, she summarizes, paraphrases, and quotes them. Look closely at two or three examples. When and why does she quote from a source? When and why does she summarize or paraphrase instead?

Writing Questions:

1. Compose a Summary and Response Essay in which you summarize Tugend’s article, including her claim, main ideas, and most important examples. Then, respond to what she says about the role of post-secondary education by explaining your own position on that topic. You could give extra attention to the role of the community college, which Tugend doesn’t spend much time discussing.
2. Visit the About section of the Lorain County Community College website and review LCCC’s mission, vision, and values. Then, compose an Analysis Essay that uses Tugend’s ideas to analyze your own college’s stated mission for educating its students. Is LCCC’s mission vocational? Is it, to Tugend’s words, “to give students a broad and deep humanities education that teaches them how to think and write critically”? Does our college attempt to do both, and if so, how so?

Additional Readings on Education and Learning

1. Amy Chua, “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior”
2. Mark Edmundson, “Education’s Hungry Hearts”
3. Gerald Graff, “Hidden Intellectualism”
4. Nick Hanauer, “Education Isn’t Enough”
5. Alfie Kohn, “What Can’t Everyone Get an A?”
6. Jonathan Kozol, “Overcoming Apartheid”
7. Toni Morrison, “Nobel Lecture, 1993”
8. Laura Papano, “How Big-Time Sports Ate College Life”
9. Sean F. Reardon, Jane Waldfogel, and Daphna Bassok, “The Good News about Educational Inequality”