In the reading, "The Untold History of Modern U.S. Education: The Founding Fathers," contributor Jamie Lee, highlights many of the issues found within the education system. Lee provides evidence on how the formation of education was not created for individuals for their own benefit, but for businesses and corporations needing more labor.
John D. Rockefeller states,
"We shall not try to make these people or any of their children into men of learning or philosophers, or men of science. We have not to raise up from them authors, educators, poets or men of letters, great artists, painters, musicians, nor lawyers, doctors, statesmen, politicians, creatures of whom we have ample supply. The task is simple. We will organize children and teach them in a perfect way the things their fathers and mothers are doing in an imperfect way" (Lee, 2014).
It shouldn't come as a shock that classroom setups are similar to assembly lines, and a student's basic schedule is similar to that of a factory worker. Education was not made to teach others to think for themselves, it was made to create the next generation of labor workers for big corporations. I remember Professor Valverde talking about the concept of a conveyor belt. The moment someone is born, they are put into this conveyor belt. They are schooled until they are about eighteen, and then thrown into the world to become workers or attend college. However, for some higher education is not an option, making them workers until they no longer can work anymore. As I was reading the article, I immediately thought of a YouTube video, titled, "I JUST SUED THE SCHOOL SYSTEM !!!" The video brings up an important question: If everything around us is constantly changing and updating itself to be more current with the times, why hasn't our education system done the same?
In addition to creating a greater labor force, it's important to note that basic education, which is K-12, was made to force the people to assimilate to the mainstream culture of America. So, my question is: How can we make the K-12 education system more beneficial to the students themselves rather than just benefiting the workforce?
References
Ea, P. (2016, September 26) I JUST SUED THE SCHOOL SYSTEM !!! [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqTTojTija8&feature=youtu.be
Lee, J. (2014, January 28). "The Untold History of Modern U.S. Education: The Founding Fathers. Walking Times. Retrieved from http://www.wakingtimes.com/2014/01/28/untold-history-modern-u-s-education-founding-fathers/
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