that of his mother. Elsie was more left oriented than William and it.
seems to have made an imprint in Noam within the scope of general.
concern about social issues and politics. But other aspects of Noam's.
education came from going to a Dewyite progressive school (Oak Lane.
Country Day School) that emphasized, as a central concern, the.
individual child's growth and learning. He attended Central High School.
in Philadelphia. When attending high school Noam noticed the emphasis.
placed on grades that wasn't existent during his elementary school days. .
Chomsky has said that attending both types of schools was very.
instructive but has also noted in an interview with James Peck:.
I remember virtually nothing about high school. It's almost an.
absolute blank in my memory apart from the emotional tone, which.
was quite negative.If I think about my experience, there's a.
dark spot there. That's what schooling generally is, I suppose. .
It's a period of regimentation and control, part of which involves.
direct indoctrination, providing a system of false beliefs. But.
more importantly, I think, is the manner and style of preventing.
and blocking independent and creative thinking and imposing.
hierarchies and competitiveness and the need to excel, not in the.
sense of doing as well as you can, but doing better than the next.
person. (Peck 6).
Also during the same time Noam has said of being influenced by the.
profuse and intense Jewish intellectual life in New York City. He often.
stopped by the Fourth Avenue second-hand bookshops and the office of the.
anarchist press Freie Arbeiter Stimme. Another frequent stop was at the.
corner of 72nd Street and Broadway. There, stood a newspaper kiosk run.
by his uncle. It didn't sell many papers by Chomsky said that it served.
as a rendezvous for European emigrants and Jewish working class.
intellectuals. (Maher & Groves 121) Noam has also said that the best.
moments of his life in those years was being able to work at the.
