235 Wendy Zeigler/Amy Halpern: The Underground History of Amercian Education by John Taylor Gatto from archive.org

Wendy Zeigler/Amy Halpern 

How would pedagogical theory explain Wendy Zeigler — my prize student out of Roland's 
class at thirteen but fairly anonymous (as most of us are) ever after — springing into 
action in her fifth decade, converting her flat in the funky Bernal Heights section of San 
Francisco to the day school code through her own labor, and suddenly opening a 
magnificently creative place for kids, two an one-half to six, called "Wendy Z's Room to 
Grow, " which did land-office business from the first. How would it explain Amy Halpern 
devoting a substantial chunk of her life to fine-tuning a personal film, "Falling Lessons, " 
which she knew in advance would never earn a penny and might not even be shown? 
What drives an artist like Amy to strive for an noncommercial masterpiece? We have no 
business imposing a simplistic template on the human spirit. That makes a mockery of 
Smith 's brilliant free market. 

A Magnificent Memory