7 Lessons Public School Teaches

Are we really turning out independent, skeptical, curious and adaptable citizens? Critics have had their doubts for decades, for example:

From 7 Lessons Public School Teaches by John Taylor Gatto, New Society Publishers:

Students learn to accept:

1. Confusion as your destiny.
2. Hierarchy: You must stay in class where you belong.
3. Indifference: Not to care about anything too much.
4. Emotional dependency: Surrender your will/rights to the predestined chain of command who can withdraw your rights.
5. Intellectual dependency: Curiosity has no important place, only conformity.
6. Good people wait for an expert to tell them what to do.
7. Provisional self-esteem: Your self-respect should depend on expert opinion-- children should not trust themselves or their parents, but need to rely on the evaluation of certified officials.
8. Controlled society: Constant surveillance and denial of privacy--no one can be trusted, that privacy is not legitimate.