RR#1

       In Against School by John Taylor Gatto, published in 2003, you get a good look at how the American school system has its flaws. Gatto was a school instructor for 30 years who could read the boredom on everyone's faces. He says both students and teachers are equally bored because of the repetitive material taught  in the K-12 school systems. Gatto gives examples of people who never even attended school and still accomplished great things. After being terminated and losing his teaching license, he started to make it clear to parents how boring their children's days actually were.
     
       In question number 3, I agree that in part that we do not need school but I also think that we do need it. I think that homeschooling is great for students in K-12 because they get the chance to learn without so much unneeded pressure. When a child is home schooled, they can learn the same concepts at their own speed and spaced out with spaces to relax and get your mind off math and writing. The fact that in public school, you are stuck in class for about five hours a day and five days a week; anyone I don't care who you are would be sick of it after twelve years. Home school is good because they have more time for sports and in teen years they can start exploring career options. Stress is a major part of all schooling, there are so many deadlines and when you are taking a lot of classes you always something to work on and turn in. On the other hand I think that the college system is great because of the freedom you have to choose your classes and the time that they start. You are not forced to take one certain class in a six hour time frame like in high school. The big difference between K-12 and college is that you schedule you class around your life ant make times that suite your learning style, like homeschooling.

       I have seen firsthand along with many other students how K-12 instructors are usually as bored as their students. Throughout Gatto's article, he uses all three of Aristotle's appeals but the one that he uses most effectively is his Ethos. Ethos is very important because it shows that the witter is credible and has experience in the topic that he or she is writing about. Gatto says, "Boredom is the common condition of school teachers, and anyone who has spent time in a teachers' lounge can vouch for the low energy" (153). Gatto uses his credibility of being a school teacher for 30 years to give use truthful examples and he hopes to let us all know so we can hopefully start to change it. I have gone through twelve years of public school seeing how most instructors are being forced to teach certain material and not deviate from it; this in turn bores students to death and makes them start to hate school.