Insights on School That Every Parent Should Know

The late John Taylor Gatto on the differences between schooling and education

"Well-schooled kids have a low threshold for boredom; help your own to develop an inner life so that they’ll never be bored," said Gatto. Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock

If you’re unfamiliar with the late John Taylor Gatto, and you have children, seek him out—his books, his videos, and his blog, at JohnTaylorGatto.com. You’ll want to hear what he had to say.

Gatto was a New York City school teacher. His 30-year career teaching in Manhattan, in both the most advantaged neighborhoods and the least, garnered him the city’s Teacher of the Year award not once but three times in 1989, 1990, and 1991. He was also named New York State Teacher of the Year in 1991.