In 1908 Henry Ford revolutionalized industry. The release of the Model-T truely changed the world. The assesmbly line not only changed the standard of industry; it effected the American mentality in general. The idea of "mass production" and "interchangable parts" filtered its way into every crevase of Ameican life-including education. Over the years, the one-room school house disappeared and in it's place appeared large schools equipped to serve more students. Yes, America...send your children to us and we, public education, will return to you a "standardized student". Every child will learn the same things, at the same time, and to the same depth and complexity as the one next to him in spite of any learning differences or economical, cultural, or social challenges he or she might face. We have the assembly line classroom where everyone learns the same...right?
Now, when stated like that we see how ridiculous the whole idea seems, but in its defense, the American "assembly line" classroom led the world in education for more than 50 years. So, to say that it didn't work would be to dismissive and short-sighted at best. However, the reason for its success in the early to mid-twentieth century also explains the reason for the system's decline: the world is changing rapidly. The difference is, that in the early 1900's, the changes in our classrooms reflected the shift from the agrarian economy an industrial one. Unfortuneatly, as our world continues to shift (this time from continental to global economy) we have failed to update our educational practices to reflect those changes.
