Innovators and Makers #1

My initial thoughts on Education Innovators and Makers of our education system imagined the innovators were like Dewey and Horace Mann and the Makers were the country's administration. After reviewing Gatto's site I realized the referenced Makers are Americas Industrialist's. The obvious difference between the Innovators and the Makers is that the Innovators were directly involved with the transformation of education. The Makers have in-directly impacted the institution of education in America. It ultimately comes down to the need to produce the product that industries need in order to produce. Gattos site made reference to education being a radical piece of social engineering but to a certain extent corporate America is a necessary voice in our education system. If we are not enlightened to the current job markets how can we prepare our students for job placement after education. Like it or not the reality is that economic forces are the basis of our education system. In a matter of speaking schools are servants to corporate America.

The information provided on Innovators via the PBS link was very interesting. Each one of the featured innovators has made a revolutionary contribution in Education. For instance for the purpose of empowering women's roles in the nineteenth century Catherine Beecher cultivated women to be the ideal school teacher. Today teachers in America are still predominantly female, especially at the elementary levels. This may have served it's purpose at one time but in this day and time we really need to see more male educators in our schools. So many of our school children lack positive male role models and it is so important to have that especially at the elementary levels. Dewey laid the foundation that spawned the progressive education movement. Today we continue the mission of implementing practices that are child centered and psychologically and physically appropriate for each individual child. The Innovator I chose to focus on is Deborah Meier. I think this innovator's influences will have continuity in public school systems for a long time. Meier fostered a democratic environment she believed in giving teachers more autonomy, parents a greater voice over the childrens education, and promoted a family-oriented system. A major goal of many school systems today is to create a partnership with parents and communities. I think it is becoming a realization that it takes a village. Meetings with parents are required in order to place children in special service programs or under an individualized education plan. We utilize community organizations for sponsorships, donations and other modes of support. Our government has bestowed parents with the power to choose where and how their child recieves an education. There are Charter schools, Magnet Schools, Private schools, On-line schools and parents can even choose to Home-school their children. I think a family-oriented system is crucial in this time of national discontent. The family structure has suffered under the economic and environmental pressures that plague our society today and they need to be restored. This is one reason I believe Meier's influences on education will continue to be relevant.

The Maker that I feel influenced the education system that we know today would be Henry Ford. Each Maker featured on Gattos site has influenced education in one way or another but Ford seemed to have a more democratic agenda. Like Frederick W. Taylor, Ford focused on efficiency. Needs for efficiency drove him to pioneer "welfare capitalism". He implemented programs for profit-sharing and paid workers double the minumum wage. Similiar to the school industry greater social control was an alterior motive of Henry Fords actions but after some controversy he altered the goals of the social department. His beliefs that taking care of his employees will lead to having a dependable workforce and higher productivity. I see our school systems basically attempting doing the same with our students. With the right amount of love and naturance they will strive to gain knowledge and productivity of well rounded human capitol will be plentiful.