---
title: "3 Arithmetic Quotes By John Taylor Gatto"
description: "3 Arithmetic quotes by John Taylor Gatto. Plus more from John Taylor Gatto and more Arithmetic sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa1/john-taylor-gatto-4736_arithmetic_children-do-not-learn-in-school-they-are_1050267.png"
---

> [Children do not learn in school; they are babysat. It takes maybe 50 hours to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic. After that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/children-do-not-learn-in-school-they-are-babysat-it-takes-maybe-50/)

[John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa1/john-taylor-gatto-4736_arithmetic_children-do-not-learn-in-school-they-are_1050267.png)

> [It was never factually true that young people learn to read or do arithmetic primarily by being taught these things. These things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/it-was-never-factually-true-that-young-people-learn-to-read-or-do/)

[John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f87/john-taylor-gatto-4736_arithmetic_it-was-never-factually-true-that-young-p_1443113.png)

> [Do we really need school? I don't mean education, just forced schooling: six classes a day, five days a week, nine months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/do-we-really-need-school-i-don-t-mean-education-just-forced-schooling/)

[John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/161/john-taylor-gatto-4736_arithmetic_do-we-really-need-school-i-don-t-mean-ed_1599445.png)

## Other authors on Arithmetic

- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b005/author-bertrand-russell-17477.jpg) Bertrand Russell 7 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arithmetic/bertrand-russell/)

## More by John Taylor Gatto

> [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/)

[John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/)

> [We could encourage the best qualities of youthfulness - curiosity, adventure, resilience, the capacity for surprising insight simply by being more flexible about time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/we-could-encourage-the-best-qualities-of-youthfulness-curiosity/)

[John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/)

> [There isn't a right way to become educated; there are as many ways as there are fingerprints.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/there-isn-t-a-right-way-to-become-educated-there-are-as-many-ways-as/)

[John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/)

> [The truth is that schools don't really teach anything except how to obey orders. This is a great mystery to me because thousands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/the-truth-is-that-schools-don-t-really-teach-anything-except-how-to/)

[John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/)

> [“Any economy in which the most common tasks are the shuffling of paper, the punching of buttons, and the running of mouths isn’t an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/any-economy-in-which-the-most-common-tasks-are-the-shuffling-of-paper/)

[John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/)

> [This was once a land where every sane person knew how to build a shelter, grow food, and entertain one another. Now we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/this-was-once-a-land-where-every-sane-person-knew-how-to-build-a/)

[John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/)

> [Self-knowledge is the only basis of true knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/self-knowledge-is-the-only-basis-of-true-knowledge/)

[John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/)

> [Schools were designed by Horace Mann and Barnard Sears and Harper of the University of Chicago and Thorndyke of Columbia Teachers College and some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/schools-were-designed-by-horace-mann-and-barnard-sears-and-harper-of/)

[John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/)

> [You need experience, adventure, and explorations more than you need algebra!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/you-need-experience-adventure-and-explorations-more-than-you-need/)

[John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/)

> [A lot of the strings that hold us like puppets are really inventions of our own minds. I'm not saying that there aren't armies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/a-lot-of-the-strings-that-hold-us-like-puppets-are-really-inventions/)

[John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/)

> [Is there an idea more radical in the history of the human race than turning your children over to total strangers whom you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/is-there-an-idea-more-radical-in-the-history-of-the-human-race-than/)

[John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/)

> [School is a twelve-year jail sentence where bad habits are the only curriculum truly learned. I teach school and win awards doing it. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/school-is-a-twelve-year-jail-sentence-where-bad-habits-are-the-only/)

[John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/)

> [“Pick up a fifth-grade math or rhetoric textbook from 1850 and you’ll see that the texts were pitched then on what would today be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/pick-up-a-fifth-grade-math-or-rhetoric-textbook-from-1850-and-you-ll/)

[John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/)

> [I feel ashamed that so many of us cannot imagine a better way to do things than locking children up all day in cells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/i-feel-ashamed-that-so-many-of-us-cannot-imagine-a-better-way-to-do/)

[John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/)

> [The shocking possibility that dumb people don't exist in sufficient numbers to warrant the millions of careers devoted to tending them will seem incredible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/the-shocking-possibility-that-dumb-people-don-t-exist-in-sufficient/)

[John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arithmetic/john-taylor-gatto/#itemlist",
            "name": "3 Arithmetic Quotes By John Taylor Gatto",
            "numberOfItems": 3,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Children do not learn in school; they are babysat. It takes maybe 50 hours to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic. After that, students can teach themselves. Mainly what school does is to keep the children off the streets and out of the job market.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "John Taylor Gatto"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/children-do-not-learn-in-school-they-are-babysat-it-takes-maybe-50/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa1/john-taylor-gatto-4736_arithmetic_children-do-not-learn-in-school-they-are_1050267.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa1/john-taylor-gatto-4736_arithmetic_children-do-not-learn-in-school-they-are_1050267.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa1/john-taylor-gatto-4736_arithmetic_children-do-not-learn-in-school-they-are_1050267.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Children do not learn in school; they are babysat. It takes maybe 50 hours to teach reading, writing, and…” — John Taylor Gatto",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "It was never factually true that young people learn to read or do arithmetic primarily by being taught these things. These things are learned, but not really taught at all. Over-teaching interferes with learning, although the few who survive it may well come to imagine it was by an act of teaching.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "John Taylor Gatto"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/it-was-never-factually-true-that-young-people-learn-to-read-or-do/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f87/john-taylor-gatto-4736_arithmetic_it-was-never-factually-true-that-young-p_1443113.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f87/john-taylor-gatto-4736_arithmetic_it-was-never-factually-true-that-young-p_1443113.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f87/john-taylor-gatto-4736_arithmetic_it-was-never-factually-true-that-young-p_1443113.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“It was never factually true that young people learn to read or do arithmetic primarily by being taught these…” — John Taylor Gatto",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Do we really need school? I don't mean education, just forced schooling: six classes a day, five days a week, nine months a year, for twelve years. Is this deadly routine really necessary? And if so, for what? Don't hide behind reading, writing, and arithmetic as a rationale, because 2 million happy homeschoolers have surely put that banal justification to rest.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "John Taylor Gatto"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/do-we-really-need-school-i-don-t-mean-education-just-forced-schooling/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/161/john-taylor-gatto-4736_arithmetic_do-we-really-need-school-i-don-t-mean-ed_1599445.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/161/john-taylor-gatto-4736_arithmetic_do-we-really-need-school-i-don-t-mean-ed_1599445.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/161/john-taylor-gatto-4736_arithmetic_do-we-really-need-school-i-don-t-mean-ed_1599445.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Do we really need school? I don't mean education, just forced schooling: six classes a day, five days a…” — John Taylor Gatto",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arithmetic/john-taylor-gatto/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arithmetic/john-taylor-gatto/",
            "name": "Arithmetic Quotes by John Taylor Gatto",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arithmetic/john-taylor-gatto/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa1/john-taylor-gatto-4736_arithmetic_children-do-not-learn-in-school-they-are_1050267.png"
            },
            "description": "3 Arithmetic quotes by John Taylor Gatto. Plus more from John Taylor Gatto and more Arithmetic sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arithmetic/john-taylor-gatto/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arithmetic/john-taylor-gatto/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Arithmetic",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arithmetic/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "John Taylor Gatto",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arithmetic/john-taylor-gatto/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```