14 Attributes of Good Education

I often post thoughts about education on this blog. Having spent overly many years in school myself, it’s something that I like to think about.

I recently ran across some interesting points by John Gatto that articulate 14 things schools should accomplish. These things have a lot in common with the spirit of entrepreneurship, so I share them here:

1. No child should graduate without a theory of human nature or an understanding of what makes people tick.
2. Writing & public speaking – they must be able to do these two things very well.
3. They must have insight into the major institutions like courts, corporations, and the military, including details of the ideas that drive them.
4. Repeated exercises in the forms of good manners and politeness.
5. The ability to accomplish independent work.
6. Energetic physical sports aren’t a luxury or a way to blow off steam, but absolutely the only way to confer grace on the human presence.
7. A complete theory of access to any person or any place.
8. Responsibility as an utter part of the curriculum.
9. Arrival at a personal code of standards in production (work), behavior, and morality.
10. Familiarity with the master creations of music, art, design, painting, architecture, sculpture, literature, and drama.
11. The power of accurate observation and recording.
12. The ability to deal with challenges of all sorts.
13. A habit of caution in reasoning to conclusions.
14. The constant development and testing of judgment.

This list is surely not mutually exclusive or collectively exhaustive, but I enjoyed the points made.

What are your thoughts on these 14 attributes of education?