Ep. 587: The Life and Legacy of John Taylor Gatto (With Professor CJ and Richard Grove)

Topics:
– How we each discovered Gatto’s work, and how will all didn’t take full advantage of our first encounter
– Gatto as the Smedley butler of school – the authority of a voice from the inside
– Gatto’s Upbringing: the culture of Western Pennsylvania
– How Gatto invites us inside the minds of the scientific managers
– A brief debate on "the best of intentions" regarding the scientific managers
– Justified sinning and pragmatism
– The power of storytelling and Gatto’s ability to make academic writing accessible

"Education" by The Kinks
In a deep dark jungle long time ago
Lived a lonesome caveman
He was a solitary soul
And he spent his playtime
Chewing meat from bones
He didn’t know how to talk much
He only knew how to groan
Then he lifted up his hands and reached to the sky
Let out a yell and no one replied
Frustration and torment tore him inside
Then he fell to the ground and he cried and he cried
But then education saved the day
He learned to speak and communicate
Education saved the day
He thanked God for the friends he made
‘Cos everybody needs an education
Everybody needs an education
Black skin, red skin, yellow or white
Everybody needs to read and write
Everybody needs an education

Thank the day when that primitive man
Learned to talk with his brothers
And live off the land
He left his cave and he moved far away
And he lived with his friends in a house that they’d made
He learned to think and to work with his brain
And he astounded his friends with all the knowledge he gained

He wrote it down on a rock that he found
And he showed all his friends and they passed it around
And then education came that day
The day it came was a sacred day
Education came that day
He thanked God for the friends he’d made

Well man built a boat and he learned how to sail
And he travelled far and wide
Then he looked up above saw the stars in the sky
So he learned how to fly
Thanks to all the mathematicians
And the inventors with their high I.Q.s
And the professors in their colleges
Trying to feed me knowledge
That I know I’ll never use
Thank you sir for the meaningful words
That you’ve handed me down and you’ve told me to learn

But I’ve got words in my ears and my eyes
I’ve got so many facts that I must memorize
Because education’s doing me in
I want to stop but my head’s in a swim
Education drives me insane
I can’t recall all the facts on my brain
Education came that day
The day it came was a sacred day
Education saved the day
He thanked God for all the friends he made

Teacher, teach me how to read and write
You can teach me about biology
But you can’t tell me what I am living for
‘Cos that’s still a mystery
Teacher, teach me about nuclear physics
And teach me about the structure of man
But all your endless calculations
Can’t tell me why I am
No you can’t tell me why I am
No you can’t tell me why I am

Everybody needs education
Open Universities, education
Every race every creed, education
And every little half-breed, education
Every nationality, education
All the little people need education
Eskimos and pygmies need
And even aborigines, education

Well physics and geography, education
Philosophy and history, education
Science and biology, education
Geometry and poetry, education
Well, education, education, education, education

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