Gatto uses these examples to support his point of view of why schooling is not necessary.
School is holding kids back from achieving their highest potential according to Gatto. He states that schools are controlling the kids and shaping the way they become. School is a kid's main source of knowledge; therefore, whatever the students are taught in school, they might base their decisions on that knowledge. One of Gatto's solutions to this problem is homeschooling. It would give kids more awareness of certain aspects of life not taught in public schools, but that is not what the government wants. He believes the government wants everyone to learn the same curriculum and wants to control what a student does by influencing his or her choice making. Being taught the same way takes away a person's originality, and Gatto tells his readers that this method is used to maintain control over today's society. .
To a certain degree, John Gatto is right that school should not be forced, and that schooling should not be the only way to educate someone. The downside to homeschooling is the fact that not every family could give their child a great education. For example, if a family were to have a child and have to teach him or her, then they might not know how to teach their child subjects that they do not have to do in their jobs. This problem would make it where a child might be forced to go into the same occupation as their parents. Gatto says that school was created to ensure that the working class could not overcome the upper, ruling class. He does not provide proof of this theory, and his theory does not appear accurate due to the equal opportunity of education to everyone. For example, if a child of a working class family succeeds to the point of receiving college scholarship offers that enables the child to go to college, then he or she can become successful and enter the upper class. Mass schooling and homeschooling both have disadvantages, but in the end are about equal in the amount of education they might receive.