Nicholas McAndrew

Jan Rieman

English 1101 X

April 11 2010

It’s My Education, and I Want It Now

In the two articles that were assigned by John Gatto, both talked about education

and the importance of gaining knowledge through education. In “Take Back Your

Education” he wrote that only you can educate yourself, and that is the only way.

Experience is the way to educating yourself, risk taking is the way to educating yourself,

following one’s hearts and interests is the way to educating yourself. Gatto continues in

this article with the observation that schools these days discourage self discovery, which

in the end reduces the amount of truly educated people in the world. In “12 Things

Really Educated People Know” he writes that the education of students lies not in the

classroom but out exploring the real world. In both articles, I feel that Gatto portrays the

truly educated person and I agree that experience is the only way to having an intellectual

and educated life.

In high school I was always the jokester. I was always pretty average, I got C’s

B’s and A’s. It wasn’t until my senior year AP Literature class when I realized that there

was something better out there for me, that something was knowledge. Gatto described

himself as a similar version of my literature teacher. She always pushed me to

experience literature and inspired me to seek knowledge. She gave me the urge to want

to understand life. She described literature in such a vibrant way that I couldn’t help but

want to be a part of it. She made it seem like the only life to live was a well-read one.
This was the spark to the chapter in my life where I was excited to learn. I feel Gatto was

spot on in the suggestion that a mentor is needed to provide adequate schooling. My

mentor was John Steinbeck’s East of Eden. When assigned to read this American classic

in literature class I was immediately absorbed and hooked by the book. It taught me the

duality of life, the greatness of a good action, and more importantly it the proper way to

live life. It provided me lessons that I could live by forever. This, I think is what made

me the person I am today. I definitely identify this book as somewhat as my mentor or

even a spark to my new and improved life.

The way schools are ran today hinders these kinds of process and produces a

much less educated population. As students, all we are taught is to read and memorize

and get good grades. The real tragedy of it all is teachers and educators don’t care how

we get there, their goal is for us to do well on their standardized tests so they will get a

pay bonus. It’s teachers like my literature teacher and other educators that are out there,

fighting the good fight. They are fighting for the kids that want to really get an education

and learn something valuable. It is also our job as students to want that education and

want to grow in that knowledge. It is our responsibility as not only students but as

Americans to have a thirst for knowledge, we have some of the finest institutions and all

of the opportunity a student could ever want here. To reject knowledge and schooling is

just illogical. It is not only the teachers’ job, but also our job to take our education back!

I now believe that experience is what a truly educated person gains their

knowledge from. Someone can read and study war all they want, but until they participate

in war they cannot fully understand it. This is just one of the many examples that could

be used to conclude that when a person experiences an event rather than studies it, the
experience is far greater than the act of just memorizing or reading about it. As I have

become more open to new experiences and participated in them I find myself growing in

knowledge and becoming more aware to the things around me. I feel that once I let loose

of the educational and social norm of being an educated person and just searched through

my experiences and reflect on what I have learned I will be a truly educated person. I

have gained more knowledge than I could have ever dreamed of. It is important to know

thyself and explore one’s emotions, beliefs, thoughts, etc. to find what living an educated

life is all about.