Is secondary school a waste of time?

Hi Arran,

Really interesting post. 

School definitely teaches us things. I am in no doubt about that. However, is what we learn in school of value to us as individuals and to our society as a whole?

 I think that John Taylor Gatto says it best:

The following are excerpts from his book ‘Dumbing Us Down, The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling…’

The 7 lessons of compulsory schooling…

1. Confusion. Everything is taught out of context.
2. Class Position. Students are taught that they are measurable, comparable, and must stay (in which group) they are put.
3. Indifference. Children are taught not to care too much about anything even though they must appear as if they do. (Any subject, project etc. which ignites an individual’s passion is cut down to size to suit the curriculum.)
4. Emotional Dependency (or as I would offer; an external locus of evaluation) through rewarding ‘good behaviour’ i.e. school rule followers; and punishing bad behaviour i.e. anything the school does not personally condone, such as free thinkers.
5. Intellectual Dependency. ‘Good’ students are taught to wait until they are told what they should be learning/doing/interested in by an authority figure.
6. Provisional Self-Esteem. Kids are taught that their self-esteem relies on being told, by an authority figure, whether they are of any worth.
7. One can’t hide. We teach students that they are constantly watched, monitored, evaluated- Surveillance which extends into the home and private time too via homework.

Yes, there are definitely lessons to be learnt at school. But I don’t think those lessons have as much to do with maths, history or science as people may wish them to. I think those lessons are mainly to do with training kids to become dependent, controllable adults.

Hi Arran,

Really interesting post. 

School definitely teaches us things. I am in no doubt about that. However, is what we learn in school of value to us as individuals and to our society as a whole?

 I think that John Taylor Gatto says it best:

The following are excerpts from his book ‘Dumbing Us Down, The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling…’

The 7 lessons of compulsory schooling…

1. Confusion. Everything is taught out of context.
2. Class Position. Students are taught that they are measurable, comparable, and must stay (in which group) they are put.
3. Indifference. Children are taught not to care too much about anything even though they must appear as if they do. (Any subject, project etc. which ignites an individual’s passion is cut down to size to suit the curriculum.)
4. Emotional Dependency (or as I would offer; an external locus of evaluation) through rewarding ‘good behaviour’ i.e. school rule followers; and punishing bad behaviour i.e. anything the school does not personally condone, such as free thinkers.
5. Intellectual Dependency. ‘Good’ students are taught to wait until they are told what they should be learning/doing/interested in by an authority figure.
6. Provisional Self-Esteem. Kids are taught that their self-esteem relies on being told, by an authority figure, whether they are of any worth.
7. One can’t hide. We teach students that they are constantly watched, monitored, evaluated- Surveillance which extends into the home and private time too via homework.

Yes, there are definitely lessons to be learnt at school. But I don’t think those lessons have as much to do with maths, history or science as people may wish them to. I think those lessons are mainly to do with training kids to become dependent, controllable adults.

Yes.  Perhaps that's the one lesson I did learn.  That I never wanted to be a part of what they were trying to make me.