Escape From the Institutional Straightjacket

Perry Marshall: John Taylor Gatto received the New York State Teacher of the Year award in 1990 and was named New York City Teacher of the Year in 1991. When the appointed evening arrived, Mr. Gatto appeared in a tuxedo in the hotel ballroom before an audience of well-fed administrators and principals, and delivered his acceptance speech.

It was that night that he publicly turned on them like a mongrel dog.

“The only reason I received this award – the only reason I’ve been a great teacher for my students – is because I didn’t do a single thing you told me to. I ignored your ‘standards,’ I thwarted your bureaucracy and I taught unauthorized material. I filled out those forms that said the students were in their desks, when they were really taking horizon-expanding study trips. I had them read real books instead of those inane, dumbed-down textbooks of yours, I taught them real history instead of the porridge of revisionist pabulum you call ‘social studies’.

“Your bureaucracy is a mill that grinds up human beings and turns them into consumer fertilizer for a planned economy. Human potential erodes as hungry minds sit in listless boredom, and teachers operate without the tools they need, just so you guys can fill your administration buildings with cushy jobs and give contracts to your cherished vendors.

“That’s why most of your students can’t read after 12 years of education – yes, even though it only takes 3 months to learn how to read. That’s why most kids follow the herd into a bleak future instead of thinking for themselves.

“I am officially turning in my resignation as of today.”

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