The Factory

The United States public school system was established during a time in history usually referred to as the industrial revolution (Montagana, 2011). This was the age of mass production. This was also when Horrace Mann argued that to make better factory workers they needed to be educated (Mann, 1848). Schools at this time were built as a model of the factories that gave the era its name. Since that time the public school system has grown, influences millions of this nations children, and changed little. We are still using an outdated method from a bygone era to construct our most important resource, productive citizens. (Oliver, 2010).
Today, much like when the public school was first established we are put into classes by age. Sir Ken Robinson, a renowned proponent of educational reform as posed the question, “why do we think that the most important thing that two children have in common is their date of manufacture?” (Robinson, 2008). This is a major issue in the educational system. We even go so far as to bar students from entering school based on a the date they were born. From that time forward the grade you are, or at least “should be” is based on a number that started counting the day you were born. Children are generally able to develop at the same rate at for the first few years; however, it doesn’t take long for some to start to pull ahead and others to fall behind. This creates students that are pushed aside, left out, and neglected because they didn’t develop at the predetermined rate of age. Students that may very well be geniuses but were late bloomers, or are just not as advanced in one subject but excel in another. The fact of the matter is, children, like adults have a varying amount of interests, talents, and skills. Students should be allowed to progress in academics at a rate they determine. Not the speed that was decided for them by when they were born, but by the speed they are learning.
Another factor of the school system that models a factory line is a separation of subjects. Like the factors of old who used a division of labour to create products on a mass scale, yesterdays, and todays public schools divide the school day into subject of specialization. Is it any wonder that teachers have a hard time connecting with their students, or that students have a hard time paying attention to forty-five minutes of a boring subject. Children learn different things at different times, and are interested in different things at different times. Sir Ken Robinson says “Well, I know kids that are much better then other kids of the same age in different disciplines, or different times of the day. Or better in smaller groups then larger groups, or sometimes they want to be on their own.” (Robinson, 2008). The world isn’t separated into different subjects, you don’t go to work and use english, then go to the store and use math. You use math while your using english while you are demonstrating your understanding of social norms; at the store and at work. We separate our subjects and teach them in blocks piece by piece, constructing knowledge in a person as a factory would construct a car. However, people don’t always work that way, in truth I bet the rarely do. Humans are complex creatures from the function of our bodies, muscles and organs, to our thought patterns and brain chemistry. On a factory line people are put into separate areas of labour so that they my become specialized in one function. Today we do the same thing in schools, we separate people into different classes and subjects. In my experience this has created a system where people are pushed along from year to year without gaining a full understanding. A student might develop understanding and proficient say in english but because of a teacher, or misunderstanding, or inability, or absence, they missed a lesson in math. This happened from year to year, until one day the student was missing enough pieces that they couldn’t understand mathematics anymore. This is the reason many people end up being good at some subjects and terrible at others. Many people they are not given the same learning experience from one subject to the next.
There was a study done by Jean Anyon in 1979 examining the curriculum, pedagogy, and pupil evaluation practices in five elementary schools differentiated by social class. (Anyon, 1979). In this study Anyon finds a number of different startling facts about the differences in schools bases on the social class of the students. In working class schools when asked what was important for students to know said things like “What these children need is the basics.” and “They’re lazy. I hate to categorize them, but they’re lazy.” (Anyon, 1979). The study goes on to say that the curriculum in the working class schools was often restricted. The students were given lessons that helped them only to learn about simple tasks in a step by step manner. (Anyon, 1979). From this study we can see how teaching is sometimes even given in a factory like manner. That the students or workers need only to know what they need to pass the test. They are kept in schools like this from thinking critically or creatively and develop a dependent view of knowledge. It is conditioned to make them into good factory workers.
Another point to make is that of allowing team work, working together and collaboration. In schools if we try to work together, if we try get help from peers we call it cheating, anywhere else in the world we call it collaboration, but in schools, no thats cheating. (Robinson, 2008). It is not necessary to keep students on their own. When children are growing up they learn by experience, by collaboration with their loved ones and those around them. I child learns to speak and walk by watching others do it and practicing and trying to do it with help and encouragement from those around him or her. However, in todays school system we are constantly told to do things on our own, without talking to our peers. With the increase of class sizes in america, there is even less opportunity for collaboration or communication. The school system is focused on keeping each student focused on “their own work” and it is keeping them from learning from one another. This is hindering some students ability to learn. Again I quote Sir Ken Robinson, “Well, I know kids that are much better then other kids of the same age in different disciplines, or different times of the day. Or better in smaller groups then larger groups, or sometimes they want to be on their own.” (Robinson, 2008). Some people learn better in groups and from their peers. Sometimes when a teacher explains something it just does not click. Then when the student next to you explains it again in their own words, and talks you through it you can get a handle on the concepts. I have seen this time and time again in my own schooling experience.
There is study after study saying that the school system needs more teacher student interaction. That clearly show a direct correlation between students ability to talk to teachers personally and an increase in student success levels. I contend that a teacher isn’t the only one that is able to provide such a connection. That I feel is why some students with healthy home lives are able to still preform well in lower economic schools. They may not be able to get the personal relationship and help with assignments from their teachers but they get it from parents and siblings. They could also get it from peers in the school system if it was not looked down upon as cheating. Students should be allowed to teach students, they should be encouraged to answer questions they know, the should be encouraged to help other students understand concepts.
Schools also, as mentioned need to change the way they organize classes. Separation into subject is practical to a degree, however, I feel that you should not have to sit through forty five minutes of one subject alone. Divide it up, split it up. We could have math class for two hours here, then english for a hour, then back to math. We could let students teach different parts of the class, changing up the teachers. This would help students understand all the subjects of school and how they all fit together. One is not superior to another, one subject is not the most important and another the least. If presented together and intermingling students would realize they help and compliment one another. They are all important, and every person has that ability to understand each one, in his or her own way.
Each student should also be challenged by their teachers to reach just a little higher. In the Anyon study one teacher said that she was happy to teach at the working class school because it was easy. She stated that her friend taught at a more affluent school and she had to go in early every day and always had something special. (Anyon, 1979). Teachers should never say that they enjoy their job because it is easy and they do not have to challenge their students. That is a recipe for disaster. A study done by Civic Enterprises showed that seventy percent of high school dropouts left school even though they felt they could graduate. (Civic Enterprises, 2011). The study goes on to say that the primary reason nearly half of he young adults gave for dropping out was that classes were uninteresting. (Civic Enterprises, 2011). Classes should be compelling, interesting, and feel useful. Students should respect the information given them in schools and feel it is useful. They should respect their teachers and they should respect each other. As shown this is not happening. If students were allowed to teach one another, if they were able to speak with and understand their teachers it would. If teachers felt they could challenge their students, if the didn’t falsely believe they were inherently lazy and unable to reach a bar they set, students would improve.
In conclusion, schools are still set up on a production line mentality. As schools continue to stress “your work” and discourage collaboration, students will continue to fall behind in some subjects and be completely disinterested in others. Similarly if subjects continue to remain completely separate students will have the same reactions. Lastly, and most importantly is the age mandated grade systems of the school system. This does nothing to help any person and only hinders ones ability to learn what they need. There are many possible ways to change and update these school systems but to do so we need to forget this age old system of factor assembly lines.

Bibliography
 Anyon, J. (1981). Social class and school knowledge. Retrieved from http://ereserve.library.utah.edu.ezproxy.lib.utah.edu/Annual/ECS/4111/Margonis/socialclass1.pdf
2. Mann, H. (1848). End poverty through education. Retrieved from http://ereserve.library.utah.edu.ezproxy.lib.utah.edu/Annual/ECS/4111/Margonis/endpoverty.pdf
Robinson, K. (2008, June). Changing paradigms. Retrieved from http://filmenglish.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/transcript-sir-ken-robinson.pdf
Civic Enterprises. (2011, January 01). Why do students drop out of school. Retrieved from http://www.cec.sped.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=9279
Oliver, R. (2010, April 04). Assembly-line schools from a bygone era. Retrieved from http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10094/1047479-109.stm
Montagna, J. (2011, December 05). The industrial revolution . Retrieved from http://yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1981/2/81.02.06.x.html