A Rhetorical Analysis of Against School by John Taylor Gatto - Essay Example

A Rhetorical Analysis of Against School By John Taylor Gatto Essay

The editor convinces the reader that he thinks the learning scheme is faulty by all means. Possessing experienced the American schooling system, he believes it has a lame approach to imparting values and principles in the mind of the apprentice. He demonstrates that the scheme motivates people to be lazy.

According to his ideas, education and collaging are two different things that must be understood differently. Children fail to understand the two and end up remaining childish for the rest of their lives even after graduation. They aim at fulfilling the wishes of their progenitors, educators, and the government. On a personal level, little is done to separate themselves from those who never attended college.

In a rhetorical analysis of against school by John Taylor Gatto Essay, the author uses examples of some of America’s prominent men and gentlewomen who became prosperous individuals despite not going into the college conformity. He uses a short narrative where he highlights the feedback of students who hated college. These scholars realized they were learning common knowledge, which was familiar and too comfortable to grasp.

He concludes that such students focused their energy on getting high marks and not understanding the content. They know college as a place to measure someone’s ability to compete and that everyone on the college compound is a competitor. Therefore, exams are given priority, and course or subject content does not have to be conceded to the most excellent of the learner’s ability.

Additionally, he challenges the notion of taking children to college for 12 years to make assignments and examinations. He looks at the story of modern education and the goals it aims to achieve. He confers confirmation from his research, which determines that the American regularity of pedagogy originated from Prussia. The system was designed for manufacturing confused intellects, who had no idea about real life and who lacked essential life experiences.

Taylor Gatto’s “Against School” tries to infer out if “indifference” is the correct word to express college life for these young citizens. Ironically, these scholars are not afraid to say that educators have little knowledge of what they develop in class. They find college too annoying to experience education.

He looks at the blame game between classmates and educators and raises the mystery of which individual is responsible for all this drama at college. He suggests that something must be done to engage students and bring them closer to friendly teachers. These kinds of teachers must be competent enough and have an adequate understanding of the subject to inspire and excite learners.

The scholars pass exams and graduate only to reach the business store and wait for employment opportunities. It shows that they are unfit to either employ themselves or create job opportunities for others. Shockingly, even the best students seek to be used in the same job market where those who fail to find employment.

He illustrates that modern people are made to remain mediocre citizens who, after graduation, still act like children. It was forced education, which focuses on creating servants instead of the leader. Most characters in his motherland think that success can only be achieved if someone has gone over the tutoring scheme.

His significant examples are the legendary George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, who did not embrace the much-celebrated 12-year college system. Nevertheless, they became successful people on an individual and national level. He points at our cultural beliefs, which intend to molding good immigrants who work hard to improve themselves. Pupils are forced to pretend to their level best just to fit in society and contact part of the association.

His report aims at persuading those who study it. Therefore, it requests to logos and ethos. Meanwhile, you read the craft; pathos is fully embraced. He clearly says that he taught in both the most immeasurable and most damaging academies in Manhattan (Gatto 300). He experienced boredom and knows that the university system is annoying to instructors and learners.

On the one hand, students claimed teachers had limited knowledge in their fields of study and refused to open up to learn more. Students belittle their teachers for not being up to date and refusing to style up. On the other hand, teachers accused students of rudeness and a clear interest in only pass exams. It appears students have one goal when they attend college, to pass exams and go out to seek employment. Gatto starts by talking about the opinions of scholars and trainees before explaining his views on the subsequent page.

He uses his encounter to make it open at the beginning of the statement that the data he shares does not come from imagination but real life. He wants the conversation to consider that he is right in criticizing the tutoring policy. It executes its ethos because it highlights his social standing. The same page examines the reader to think about the person who must carry the blame. He lets the audience understand that the regularity has frustrated both learner and instructor.

He exposes the idea his grandfather told him concerning the freedom to contemplate him and that it was the supervisor’s work to offer knowledge. Teachers are paid by the government to carry out responsibilities they perceive do not belong to them but students themselves. Taylor Gatto arranges his points such that at the start, the public is made to select the somebody at fault, between instructor and seniors. Later, his own opinion shows that he finds fault with mentors and seniors who are not ready to accept responsibility.

The writer employs this tactic because when his opinion comes last, the scholar can see that he does not support either coaches or students. Therefore, he understands the situation much better than teachers and scholars who are in the university policy. When he highlights the views of teachers on the one hand and those of students on the other, then starting his own to challenge the two, he is appealing to logos to convince the reader. He shows where he stands when it comes to opinions regarding the college system.

Gatto uses the word “baby” to explain the people who differ with the education his granddaddy taught him. “I had an obligation to entertain and teach myself, and those who did not recognize that were immature people, to be evaded as much as possible. He knows that as much as society is concerned, the majority are confused. He worked to stay apart from the community and have his stand. He was not going to depend on childish people who had less regard for the freedom of oneself. Many people lived to be liked and praised for being humble and accepting the burden of society.

The way Gatto chooses his words contests to logos. Educators and learners keep complaining about their lack of happiness and excitement in the university system, yet it is their job to stay entertained. He labels them “young” to influence the readers into knowing the two parties were not experienced enough to know nobody has the accountability to consider them. Anticipating someone to treat them is simple.

It also engages in ethos since labeling the two parties “young” means he is wiser in opinion. The public is convinced that he is mature and understands the college system more than those who are directly involved in it. He distinguishes himself from their argument and gets it clear to the public that he thinks otherwise from them. He understands that teachers and pupils are swallowed by the policy and do not understand reality in terms of freedom to choose the profession.

As he provides support for his points, the writer uses ethos to interest the scholar. He gives some background information about the original author or individual he quotes and writes their ideas which relate to the article. Additional information proves to the public that the person of reference is aware of the faults or gaps in the learning system. He quotes writers such as H.L. Mencken and calls him “great” to persuade the reader into believing the author is indeed an authority in the field of literacy.

Page 303 also shows an apparent utilization of the tactic when he speaks of James Bryant Conant. He says Bryant was a World War II poison-gas professional, Harvard University chairman for twenty years, the top expert on the nuclear bomb design, and among the prominent personalities of the 20th centenary.

He uses many words to express his temperament of interest so that the public can feel the data he provides is accurate and from someone of an excellent reputation. He does not merely throw information around because the scholar may question the accuracy of such words. He chooses his words wisely so that his ideas are analyzed with the seriousness they deserve.

Gatto finishes the report by trying to use emotions or pathos to convince the audience. After his encouragement to the reader to stay awake and realize the gaps in the system, he still tells them that nobody knows what the children could do because only they can make a choice. It is useful since the public may have an alternative approach to the issue at hand regarding its impact on their children.

I partially concur with Taylor Gatto on his views of the college conformity. It is correct when he says that the policy is annoying as a sequence of parties, professors, and scholars. They need to decide on their own to make life enjoyable. College could have been inspiring if educators and learners stopped the blame game.

I also agree with his view that forced pedagogy turns teenagers into dependents after graduation (Gatto 307). They become good employees who cannot think outside the box and make independent decisions. Being required to teach a subject, you do not have an advantage in is not right. I feel that it is wrong to deny someone the freedom to choose what to engage in educationally. It would be better if students were exposed to a better system of gaining encounter and career choice.

Anyone can go to school to get an apprenticeship, but it does not make sense to learn a subject you do not care to acknowledge. It looks like colleges are business entities that work to increase profit and keep citizens busy enough to avoid trouble in society. People are motivated to satisfy others while at the same time blocking them from reaching their purposes. If getting high grades is the goal of education, then students can use various means to pass exams and outshine their peers.

However, I do not agree with his idea that college keeps us from growing up. I think that college helps us to discover our purpose in life and improve on the same. We still mature over time because life experiences make us stronger. Everyone is useful in life, and college only takes most of our time from us. College gives us challenges which, after overcoming, build us emotionally and physically.

Gatto uses ethos, logos, and pathos entirely in the article to convince scholars to explain his point of view. Characters are increasingly gaining concern in issues such as this, especially with the release of works such as Harper’s publication. Gatto has ideas worth considering when he examines the college policy and obtaining it clear that education turns people into slaves (Gatto 307). The society aims to create the majority in the same direction and imposes knowledge on them from a young age.

However, I feel that Gatto fails to give more opposing views. He focusses on directing the triumphant people who never went to college but forgot to speak about the people who have been to college and become successful. It makes the audience feel that the people who have been to college since 1915 have failed in life all the same. Even though he persuades the student to understand his views, he does not balance his argument. Despite the lack of balance in his work, he succeeds in informing the audience about his view of the teaching method and its impact on society.

Having stated at the beginning of the story that he taught in Manhattan for thirty years in both the best and worst colleges (Gatto 300), the writer makes it clear that he has enough experience to discuss the topic. Logically, his story makes sense because he knows from real-life experience that being a teacher is boring and that students hate teachers.

He maintains that college is some kind of prison for both academicians and scholars (Par. 4). Additionally, he says that the best way to reach full potential is to achieve you (Par. 27). The whole argument points to freedom, in which society denies somebody in the name of organizing the large numbers.