Last Book Club



My group and I had an interesting discussion in our final book club meeting. Gatto wanted us to all know what actually happens in the school system and how corrupt it can be. The discussion leader brought up a quote from the book which states, “For true believers, children are test animals” (Gatto 178). I completely agree all my years we are tested in everything and every subject. HESPA, SATS, NJASK, Parcc, etc. I am grateful I never had to take Parcc! With PARCC being useless we discussed how they are going to remove this. It is sad that that people depend on a test score to determine where you want to go in life. For example, someone I know is currently in the process of joining the Coast Guard. He didn’t do so well on the Math portion, so had to take a another test until he received a passing score. It sucks that people depend on a number on the test score to determine if you are going to graduate or not or if you are intelligent or not. Colleges look at SATs scores and determine if you will get accepted or not which is horrible because some students are simply not good test takers. We get nervous because a bad test score can lead us to failing. Another point that the discussion leader brought up was if schools changed for the better or worst. Our school system has its pros and cons. Working with children with special needs it made me realize that the school system is acknowledging them and have special school buses, classroom settings, and teachers that understand children with special needs. The cons are that teachers really don’t care about our education and especially in my town it is all politics. Teachers become teacher because it is “easy”. I had teachers who would just sit there and not even teach. They just wanted to get paid and leave. If teachers don’t have a passion for making a difference, students are going to be bored and not even want to go to school. Teachers, guidance counselors, etc., makes students believe that they all need to college right after high school so we can get a better job. College isn’t for everyone and some students need a break to decide what they truly what to major in. Gatto stated, “Public schools do not exist to please Johnny’s parents. They do not even exist to ensure that Johnny will one day earn a good living at a job he likes” (181).


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