Gronk took his education beyond what he learned in school. He was a big reader from a young age and liked to learn everything he could about a subject he was interested in. He did much of his research at the library, gaining a vast knowledge of European modern art and film. Gronk recalls that in high school that he did not fit into "the confines of compulsory heterosexuality." He states that he sat at the 'queer table' at lunch but because he was an excellent artist, students at the school didn't consider him to be gay. Bored with high school and stimulated into political action by the anti-Vietnam War and the Chicano Blowouts at East Los Angeles schools, Gronk and friends barely attended their final years in school, and may not have graduated. He took some classes at East L.A. College.