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By EMILY PIERONI; Times Leader Correspondent
Wednesday, September 16, 1998 Page: 11A
WILKES-BARRE- An award-winning, retired New York City school teacher says
America is dumbing down its students- a message he plans to bring to King’s
College this week.
John Taylor Gatto, a three-time winner of the New York City Teacher of the
Year award, says today’s educational system is hurting more than helping
children.
He described the system as “putting kids through a hothouse which teaches
most that they cannot make it on their own.”
Gatto, the author of three books about problems in America’s schools, said
children don’t have to be subjected to the rigid, government enforced system.
Students view it as a 20th-century invention that is deeply flawed and too
rigid, he said.
His goal is simple. He wants to restore the notion Americans once held that
there is no difference between the “dumbest” and the “brightest” children.
“I promote self-reliance, independence and high standards of work-
qualities that any business looks for,” Gatto said.
He plans to speak at the King’s College Burke Auditorium at 7 p.m.
Thursday.
A firm believer in the controversial voucher system that supports the home
schooling movement, he often lectures about the “guerrilla curriculum.” That
method returns power to the community, he said, and intellectual quality to
the schools through apprenticeships, independent studies and parent
partnerships.
His philosophy enables teachers to separate themselves from the typical
standards set by schools. Gatto said those standards need “real free-market
choices, variety that speaks to every need and runs risks.”
Speaking in almost 63