High School Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling

March 8, 2013 by Arjun

Prior to the late 1800′s, education was a private practice that took place in private institutions or through home schooling. That all changed in 1902 when John D Rockefeller created the general education board in conjunction with Frederick T Gates. Frederick T gates was a close friend,business and personal adviser to Rockefeller.

From the day we are born, we are taught what our parents are taught, and often what their parents taught them. From a young age, we are put into this institution and told how the world works and what we need to do to survive in it. It’s time to let go of these limiting structures, and realize our infinite potential to create something that resonates with us all. This isn’t real education, it’s brainwashing.

I never let my education interfere with my learning – Albert Einstein

I want a nation of workers, not thinkers – John D Rockefeller

About the author

Arjun

Email me: arjun@collective-evolution.com

33 comments on “High School Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling”

Alessandra Ferrari
March 8, 2013 at 4:26 pm

Yes Arjun, this is so true! It is indeed brainwashing and indoctrination as well as a form of slavery I would dare to say. And it is getting worst by the day.
There is very little value in schooling, and schooling has nothing to do with education.
The classroom is indeed a prison for the most part and kids, particularly the younger age groups certainly learn the meaning of boredom and repression as well as acting and thinking in a robotic way.
This state of affairs is really a massive orchestration to force us all to conform and to stop us from thinking with our brains. Our creativity is stifled or barely contained within the boundary of what institution deem “acceptable”. Have you noticed that kids in schools question less and less what is being fed to them? And let’s not talk about the mentality and brainwashing, through training, of teachers and schools staff. It was such a relief when my son finished compulsory schooling, because I stopped arguing, questioning and challenging as well as being considered weird by other parents who think that their kids “need being in school” and the poor teachers have such a difficult job and so much responsibility! Well I am afraid that until more parents get smarter or more aware and start demanding a system of more self government for their children in schoos and more freedom of choice concerning lessons attendance and what they want or do not want to learn,we are just going to see a lot of talent and potential going down the drain.

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Terri
March 8, 2013 at 4:31 pm

so how do we change this or do something about this problem at hand?

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- David Simpson
  March 20, 2013 at 10:01 pm
  
  Well, we should definitely do something about it. Educational system should be continually improved and monitored. We should let it be known to the young that education is priceless and STILL very important.
  
  David
  http://www.pharmacyschooling.com
  
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CM Simon
March 8, 2013 at 4:37 pm

Jeb Bush & proponents of exhaustive, expensive tests for kids at the cost of brain-building courses like art, PE, music, drama, etc. should listen to this young lady.

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Andrae Smith
March 9, 2013 at 12:23 am

When politicians say that America is still the richest most powerful nation in the world, they may be exaggerating slightly, but they are not lying. If your family is suffering and you’re looking to blame either party, just know that America is improving. Just not for you, or the rest of us that the real America is stepping on. We are the workers, we are not included in the true benefit; those in charge merely work the system so that we experience cycles so we are blind to the fact that they are still profiting from us.
But what none of them seem to realize is that an economy based on endless growth is unsustainable.

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waltinseattle
March 9, 2013 at 2:38 pm

we dont need no education was of course about brit “schooling” and recognized it for the conformist cookie cutter machine it and we have in place of education. didya hear bout the kid thrown out for challenging “teachers” claim that 1 km. was farther than 1 milr. teach claimed authority (his) should trump fact.

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- CJ Spatran
  April 7, 2013 at 8:08 am
  
  You need education! Your English is horrible! Didya? Really???
  
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  - Destry
    May 22, 2013 at 1:39 pm
    
    yah, rilly. Get the 2×4 out of your bottom, the point Walt is making is far more important than blind adherence to grammar. English is a live and evolving language, and today’s “did you” is tomorrow’s “didya”. Look up “d’oh” in the dictionary, my friend.
    
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stammer williams
March 9, 2013 at 2:55 pm

An ex-teacher called John Taylor Gatto has some ideas. He’s written a couple of very good books on schooling called Dumbing Us Down and A Different Kind Of Teacher.

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Laurie Baker-Whalen
March 11, 2013 at 7:11 am

I am a stranger to you and stumbled on your speech on a facebook page in NY. I could not be more proud of you if you were my own daughter. Thank you for giving me hope from your generation ! Perhaps you have found your calling? YOU GO GIRL..

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elise
March 11, 2013 at 10:11 pm

Brilliant, brave and wonderful. This is lovely; thank you. Love and luck to you in all you do.

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tmajor7Tom Major
March 12, 2013 at 9:31 pm

I have read The Underground History Of American Education. Mr. Gatto, a true Hero, American Patriot, and Friend To All Children, should be in charge of our country’s education system!!! I have told every person I know about this hero and that they can read his book for free on his website!!!!

My advice to parents who truly wish to spare their babies from the most debilitating institution on this planet is to home school them correctly and responsibly!!!. Although some succeed upon completion, very few ever escape its poison!!!!!!!! LOVE YOUR BABIES A LITTLE MORE THAN THE REST OF THE POPULATION!!!!!!

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Matto Gravy
March 13, 2013 at 2:17 pm

It was a great speech, and a poignant sentiment. I just think we have to be careful in what we wish/ask for – it’s not WHETHER we have public education, but HOW we educate. If it was more of a priority in our society, we’d be having a constant conversation about it and find ways to improve. I just don’t like this blanket idea that schools are brainwashing us, or indoctrination camps – they are many things to many people, but education does have to be a social priority and not something to be handled individually. to the person/people who advocate “home schooling” – that’s just a s bad, potentially, to have a country full of people who all believe they are educated and who disagree on fundamentals because their parents fed them subjective information as fact. Why can’t we all just take an active role in our kids’ education, and supplement what they are getting in school with the things school doesn’t give them, know things about the way they learn that their teachers never discover, take them places their teachers can’t take them? Problem solved.

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- johnny
  April 21, 2013 at 11:11 am
  
  I agree with you. The speech is just kid that is talking and not knowing what she’s saying. Below is post!
  
  Schooling is ok, but it is what kids are thought after school that is damaging. They are thought by their mother and their father to sit in the front of a tube call television. The little monsters are lazy, and they don’t want to do anything. We need to restrain them, or otherwise they’ll create gangs to rob banks. Give the schools credit for doing what the mothers should be doing, to restrain the sinful nature in them.
  
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gottaluvsociety
March 13, 2013 at 3:46 pm

She is absolutely correct and inspiring. This gives me hope for the future generation that they will break away from the “typical” and “standardizing” of the US population. We were not meant to live this way, be governed or controlled, yet that is what we have become. Kudos to her and others like her for speaking out and starting their own paths towards fighting back against regulation and conformity. Thank you, young lady, for giving us hope that our children may grow to live in the world we only dreamed of.

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- tmajor7Tom Major
  March 13, 2013 at 7:12 pm
  
  I realize I’m wasting my time here, but I feel I owe it to my fellow human!!!
  
  To those who believe what I’ve written or what Mr. Gatto’s book is concerning is based on opinions you are sadly, sadly, mistaken. The Underground History Of American Education Is the only book to actually define the U.S. govt’s school system’s origin and all of its objectives. It is filled with facts!!!! Mr. Gatto was selected Teacher of the year for both NY state and NY City during his 30 year careeer. Arjun’s valedictory address is as good as one can and will ever get. Unfortunately she is but one person who can’t fill her classmates heads with the knowledge she gained from the book.
  
  The modern school system was introduced here at the turn of the last century. It is modeled after old Prussian, Germany’s socialist system designed to mold and control an entire populace. Some of the program’s objectives are to produce: 1) A population unable to think and form opinions on their own (the fact that the overwhelming majority of American’s believe: that a foreign monster called a “terrorist” is a constant threat to this country, everything they are told to believe by our gov’t as well as not understanding exactly how our govt and our monetary system’s operate are proof that objective is definitely being met) 2) Absolutely destroy the family structure of America (the fact that we’re at a 65% divorce rate and just over 50% of all babies are born to single mom’s with little or no financial support from father or the father taking a full-time role in babies lives, proves that objective is more than being met) 3) Produce professional consumers; credit preferred. I’m not even going to waste my time providing examples on this one. 4) Produce a nation of worker bees to make corporations wealthier and wealthier. 5) Produce soldiers for the war corporations to allow corporations to virtually take over as many countries as possible. This is a very short list!!!
  
  I agree, the majority of our individual problems revolve around choices we make. But if you and your parents and their parents and their parents are products of the most debilitating institution on this planet, and theirs a 98% chance they all were, then you were almost doomed from the start. Almost indicating that we all possess inherent capabilities to think and form opinions on our own. We just have to snap out of the trance and start using those GOD given tools!!!!!
  
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  - Randee Head
    March 20, 2013 at 11:52 am
    
    You can learn to think wherever you are. I got my strength to do that in public school. I learned to back up my statements with facts and stand alone if I had to.
    
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Adam
March 19, 2013 at 7:42 pm

The majority of comment heap praise upon this girl for speaking so boldly against the education system for being part of a system of brainwashing and enslavement. Indeed, to speak contrary to the nature of an event like graduation takes courage and I can applaud her for speaking out on what she perceives to be real problems.
To be fair though, the fact that she was able to give her speech uninterrupted testifies to the exaggeration of her point. Education is to teach. We come out of school knowing how to read, write, perform and understand complex mathematical calculations and apply these skill to our world. We learn about history and about cultures around the world (less so in the United States where the common view seems to be that there is little outside US borders). We get the opportunity to learn other languages, to paint, sculpt, and to create beautiful music. We learn about the sciences and this has brought about significant improvements to the way we live in this world.
No, it is not all sunshine and daisies. There are those whose needs are not fully met. There is bullying and teachers who care more about being ‘right’ than effective or correct. But the main goal of education is achieved for as many want to achieve it. If a student want to learn then they are able to do so.
As for brain washing, I believe this to be a word chosen for shock value rather than apt description. The idea that we are being taught to be part of the system to make others rich is misguided. There is no one who is that rich person, who did not first enjoy the benefits of education . We are free to choose our futures. To prepare as we see fit. If we find things did not turn out the way we would have liked then perhaps we did not make good choices. Yes, there are common instances of misfortune, but too often we blame the world when we quit too soon or we did not prepare ourselves to meet the world.
Thank you for this thought provoking video. And thank you, Mrs. Valedictorian, for speaking your mind. Meeting your life head on at graduation can indeed be terrifying. More frightening when you have been so busy doing what you feel others expect of you that you have not yet taken thought for what you expect of yourself. The fault, my lady, may not be theirs for expecting. It may have been yours for not asking why.

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- Brett Engle
  April 3, 2013 at 1:35 am
  
  You are right to point out that it’s all in our control, that two people can go to the same educational institution and one can come out and become that “rich person”, while another can end up on the street. And it really is true that we all choose our own future. But she’s not talking about learning how to read or write, she’s talking about the worldview that is invisible to most people because it’s always been there. I’m talking about the reason we have culture shock when we go to another country – things that we never realized could be different suddenly are, and it freaks us out a bit. The limiting worldview that was fed to us in our standard american public education system is really bad, and sets people up to be good at test taking and poor at really thinking, as she pointed out. As she also pointed out, it was the influence of another person who woke her up to her potential that allowed her to reach a higher level. The system should be set up to teach that lesson, it shouldn’t just be renegade teachers who help us realize our true potential, and that we truly decide our future.
  
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- Phoenix
  May 11, 2013 at 2:16 am
  
  There are people who chose to leave the regular schooling and pursue their own ends and became rich for it. Look into it.
  
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Caitlin
March 19, 2013 at 9:11 pm

Thank you! You are an inspiration. I am following an unschooling model for my two children, ages 10 and 8. They have never been to school. They are intelligent, polite and have plenty of friends. Thanks for reminding me why we choose to live this way!

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tmajor7
March 20, 2013 at 10:55 pm

Read The Book:The Underground History Of American Education by John Taylor Gatto. It’s filled with facts about the origin and plan of this school system. Who knows maybe you’ll learn something!!!!!..

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Henry
March 25, 2013 at 1:39 pm

Look at Finland, they have the best educational system in the world!

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dowager countess
April 2, 2013 at 3:16 pm

“Prior to the late 1800′s, education was a private practice that took place in private institutions or through home schooling. ” This is not true. Horace Mann introduced compulsory public education in Massachusetts by midcentury. By the time Rockefeller created the GEB, compulsory schooling was standard across the Northeast, at least.

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Martin
April 3, 2013 at 6:51 am

The problem in higher education should immediately be addressed and together we do our part to improve the education system. The speech of this young lady is inspiring, Overall, a better education system should be established.

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Julie
April 3, 2013 at 3:53 pm

I started 25 years ago by unschooling my own kids, despite the protests, ridicule and judgment I dealt with and still deal with. For better or worse. I chose and still choose differently. School is the biggest most profound and “acceptable” form of state indoctrination and brainwashing ever deployed. I’ve never regretted my choice to refuse it.

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- tmajor7
  April 4, 2013 at 10:03 pm
  
  Congratulations! I’m Sure You Agree That It’s About Using Some Inherent Common Sense Combined With LOVING Your Babies That Much More!
  
  I truly wish that everyone could wake up and understand exactly how debilitating that system is!
  
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tmajor7
April 7, 2013 at 10:05 am

I’m amazed at the comments made from some good people who haven’t even read the book. Another indication of the wrath of the most debilitating institution on this planet!!!!

Read The Book:The Underground History Of American Education by John Taylor Gatto. It’s filled with facts about the origin and plan of this school system. If You’re Not Too Poisoned, You Will Still Be Able To Learn Something About Yourself!!!!!..

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Tim Lawler
April 13, 2013 at 6:06 am

Everyone should be an innovative thinker. We do need a basic education in mathematics and science as a foundation for such innovative thinking.

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Johnny
April 21, 2013 at 11:05 am

Schooling is ok, but it is what kids are thought after school that is damaging. They are thought by their mother and their father to sit in the front of a tube call television. The little monsters are lazy, and they don’t want to do anything. We need to restrain them, or otherwise they’ll create gangs to rob banks. Give the schools credit for doing what the mothers should be doing, to restrain the sinful nature in them.

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Lars Christensen
May 11, 2013 at 1:30 am

She is puting words of a sentiment any sencitive person had while in school…

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Lars Christensen
May 11, 2013 at 1:32 am

She is a Teacher all ready, her maturity is Outstanding, Kids need her schooling but firsta sabatical in Costa rica will do her Good!

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Ben Frank
May 16, 2013 at 9:04 am

I think it’s important to remember why the Public education was created, “The board was founded in New York City in February 1902 and chartered by the United States Congress on 12 January 1903, its object being the promotion of education throughout the United States, without distinction as to race, sex or creed.” It’s very easy for people to forget there were worse and more primitive times in this country. Let me be the one to say it since many do not want the burden, the majority of parents have no business being educators. Teaching things like walking, affection and the basics of talking is about where we need to draw the line with parents in terms of education. When you start venturing into history, philosophy and ethics I think Black Codes, Jim Crow and the religious Reich are clear examples of how dangerous “Private” and home education can be. I’m all for home schooling and having private institutions believe you me I’m the last one telling anyone what to do with their money. I do think however this assault on education comes from the diaper sniffing, authority hating, White-privileged corridor of this country. Frankly, I’m sick of public education be defunded year after year by congress accompanied with parents unwilling to face the fact their child isn’t doing what they’re supposed to be doing leading schools to loosen the screws on the curriculum thus turning out dummies. When are we all going to start taking responsibility for our roles in things being the way they are….?

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High School Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling

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Arjun

33 comments on “High School Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling”

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