"When Schools Don't Educate"

I am linking to a speech written by a man who received the Teacher of the Year award consecutive years from New York City and state.  His speech is entitled "When Schools Don't Educate."
http://www.naturalchild.org/guest/john_gatto.html

I encourage all who care to think, who care about children, who care about people and society in general to read it.  After reading it and also listening a while to a youtube video in which he was interviewed I have been reflecting on my own experience with the education system.  I think of how I went straight from high school to a four year liberal arts college because I thought that was the way you just did it.  I thought of how I was always a pretty good student -- A's and B's and never really struggled within the system except for my youngest years.  I thought of how I never really felt free to explore my own interests and passions until after college (even though my private college experience was better than my public school K-12 experience).  I thought of how even now I am discovering my aptitude at drawing and painting because I am doing it by my own free will and not being constricted by some set of rules.  I don't think that structure is bad but I do think the kind of superficial structure that schools often are forced to use for their students is silly.  Montessori itself is intensely structured but that structure has purpose for dignified development of each individual not just to "make runs smoothly" in an artificial sense.

I welcome anyone's thoughts on John Taylor Gatto's speech, Montessori education, public education and also education/learning in general.  I want to have a discussion about this salient issue.

Grey Day

      -Sigh-  Today is one of those days where I feel the lack of Heaven.  Yes, I prayed today, "They Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven."  However, the glories of Heaven and the Kingdom are apparently absent.  I don't say this in an uber depressed tone.  Don't misunderstand; overall this day has been one worth keeping.  I even got to see a dear friend and that was valuable.  It's not even the weather.  I don't mind the clouds and rain.  I even cherish the new life and the strong scents that storms bring.  It's just that there is something in me that knows this life is not how it's supposed to be.

     I even wrote in my journal the other day:  "Do we get to the point where we learn 'not too expect too much?' What does God think of this?  He thinks we need to learn to expect more I venture."

    There is a sort of resignation that occurs as one becomes older and sometimes it okay I suppose, but other times I think it just makes people drones, simply doing just enough and being in survival mode or at least what is comfort mode (which is more dangerous because then people have the illusion that they are satisfied but they really aren't living life, they are just being spoon-fed).  At least those in survival mode see that things are not as they should be more often.  Hmmm....I think C.S. Lewis said it rather well when he said this,  

If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us,like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by an offer of a holiday at sea. We are far to easily pleased.