Prior to exploring the PBS website regarding the innovators of American education and John Taylor Gatto's reflection of the real makers of public schools, I found myself wondering what is the difference between a maker and an innovator as the terms relate to public education. Prior to viewing the two sites, my initial thoughts were an innovator is someone that is the first to do something; however, a maker is an individual who constructs something usually by changing it. After fully investigating the two sites, I was able to relate these two terms to prominent individuals in the educational arena. I was also able to determine what truly makes the public view these individuals as innovators and makers.
In my quest to find the differences between the two terms, I first viewed the PBS website. PBS referred to innovators as men and women who have taken the lead and transformed the public education system for more than a century (PBS, 2001). I enjoyed reading about the different contributions that each innovator made to education. Some of the ones that I found interesting were Horace Mann, Catherine Beecher, Booker T. Washington, and Deborah Meirer; however, the innovator of the group that I found most interesting and most unique was Linda Brown Thompson. It seemed to me that each of the other innovators discussed were personally responsible for their own innovations; however, in Ms. Brown Thompson’s situation, her innovation just happened by chance. In my opinion, she was just “at the right place at the right time”. Brown Thompson has been given credit for being the sole individual to end segregation in America’s public schools; however, she really was not. She actually had no choice or decisions in any of the matters that unfolded. Basically, the NAACP asked her family as well as several other families to try to enroll their children in a local all white school. The schools rejected these children, and the NAACP filed a lawsuit against the Board of Education. Since Brown’s last name began with a “B”, the entire case was called Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka (PBS, 2001). A CBS News article states, “In the years since [the ruling], Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education has been a blessing and a burden for the Brown family: A blessing because the family helped change history; a burden at times because of media attention it brought” (2009). I find Brown Thompson and her father as well as the other families involved in the case to be very inspiring. If they had not been so bold and basically trusted the NAACP with this matter, how long would public schools have remained segregated?
After I reviewed the data regarding innovators, I next read John Taylor Gatto’s opinions regarding the makers. Gatto gave me somewhat of a new outlook on the historical aspect of education. I never really thought about some of the ideas that he proposed. Honestly, I knew more of the individuals listed as a maker in Gatto’s data than I did from the innovators data on the PBS website. I have never really thought about Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, or John D. Rockefeller having any influence whatsoever on education. Gatto identifies these men as makers of modern schooling because they were the leaders of a new American Industrialist class, and they were dreaming big dreams (Gatto, 2000-2003, pp. 2&3). Gatto’s opinion of a maker of modern schools seems to relate the maker to any individual that revolutionizes the corporate world and their idea is somehow forced upon the education system.
Of all the makers identified by Gatto, I feel that Andrew Carnegie contributed the most to education. Gatto identifies Carnegie as the steel baron. Carnegie was the “leader of the American steel industry from 1873 to 1901. He also donated large sums of his fortune to educational, cultural, and scientific institutions” (Andrew Carnegie Biography). While reviewing Carnegie’s biographical information on the Encyclopedia of World Biographies website, I discovered that by 1878 his company was valued at $1.25 million. This is a lot of money for the year 2011. Can you imagine having this much money in 1878? I am sure that other individuals that lived during this era viewed him as an industrial genius, and they tried to incorporate his ideas into the public school system. In addition to actually being a maker as Gatto defines him, Carnegie did actually make great contributions to education. “In retirement, Carnegie began to set up trust funds "for the improvement of mankind." He built some three thousand public libraries all over the English-speaking world. In 1895 the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh was opened, housing an art gallery, a natural history museum, and a music hall. He also built a group of technical schools that make up the present-day Carnegie Mellon University. The Carnegie Institution of Washington was set up to encourage research in the natural and physical sciences. Carnegie Hall was built in New York City. The Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching was created to provide pensions for university professors” (Andrew Carnegie Biography).
Included in his discussion of the makers, Gatto pursues a very interesting topic. He makes reference to past-president George W. Bush and other distinguished individuals. Gatto claims that these individuals scored low to mediocre on their SAT’s yet they somehow managed to graduate from very distinguished institutions and become notable characters in our society. “Bush graduated from Yale, became governor of Texas, and president of the United States—with a mediocre 550” (Gatto, 2000-2003, p.8). I always find these types of discussions interesting. I believe that Gatto’s point is that one test cannot determine how truly intelligent a human being is or what the future holds for this person. I think that this idea can also be related to how much education a person receives. For example, Andrew Carnegie was forced to educate himself due to his need to help take care of his family (Andrew Carnegie Biography). Henry Ford, another maker and the inventor of the assembly line, was a poor student and had little interest in school (Henry Ford Biography). Also, we have all heard about Bill Gates dropping out of college. Does this mean that one can be a maker, or even an innovator, and not perform well academically? I think so especially when the academic performance is based on a standard that is set by society such as a standardized test.
In summary, the PBS website and the Gatto review have changed my perception on innovators and makers as they relate to public education. I now understand that the innovators revolutionized issues and perspectives with regards to public education; however, the makers have developed motivational ideas that have been incorporated into public school classrooms.
References
Andrew Carnegie Biography. (n.d) In Encyclopedia of World Biographies online. Retrieved from http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ca-Ch/Carnegie-Andrew.html
CBS News. (2009, February 11). The Legacy of Brown v. Board. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/16/national/main617697.shtml
Gatto, JT. (2000-2003). The makers of modern schooling. The Odysseus Group. Retrieved from http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/historytour/history1.htm
Henry Ford Biography. (n.d.) In Encyclopedia of World Biographies online. Retrieved from http://www.notablebiographies.com/Fi-Gi/Ford-Henry.html
PBS. (2001) Innovators. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/kcet/publicschool/innovators/index.html
No comments:
Post a Comment