Understanding the education System An overview of the history and purpose of education in America The project Understanding the Education System is available

Understanding the education SystemUnderstanding the education SystemAn overview of the history and purpose of education in AmericaAn overview of the history and purpose of education in America

The project Understanding the Education System is available under the Creative Commons Attribution License Creator 3.0 Copyright 2012 by Dr. Trace Pickering

Education as a systemEducation as a system

• When thinking about any system, it is important to examine that system in light of 4 elements:

1. CONTEXT – what is happening in the environment that is impacting the system and the problems people face?




2. FUNCTIONS – what is the system designed to produce? What is its vision or purpose?




2. STRUCTURES – how do we organize the people and “parts” of the system to help achieve our vision?




3. PROCESSES – what practices and procedures do we put in place to ensure we achieve the vision?


CONTEXT

FUNCTIONS

STRUCTURES

PROCESSES

What is happening around us?


What do we want our

system to do for us?

What do we want our


How do we organize to

get what we want?


get what we want?

What practices/

procedures do we need?

What practices/


The questions:The questions:


Agrarian America: 1600-LATE 1800’SAgrarian America: 1600-LATE 1800’S

CONTEXT



• Gentleman farmers• Skilled craftsmen• “Learned” leaders• Mass of uneducated populace• New governmental form: democracy

• A way to secure the republic• Opportunities for the poor• A small class of educated leaders• Masses of people with artisan and trades skills

The World of America was about: Americans wanted and needed:


FUNCTIONS

What do we want our


What do we want our


• Give poor kids a chance to show they were “smart” (based on reading, writing, and math skills) and separating them from the masses.

• Ensure that America had a small number of intellectuals to advance the republic.

• Give poor kids an equal opportunity to demonstrate that they were “smart.”

• (Jefferson only wanted to find the top 10 students every year.)

Agrarian America wanted education to:

T. Jefferson sets education visionT. Jefferson sets education vision

Having a clear understanding of the context of the day, Jefferson, in his notes on the State of Virginia, 1784, articulated the vision (function) of education in America:

“To rake the genius from the rubbish.”



• Created one-room schoolhouses• Children of all ages from the community attended• As children aged, they returned to the farm, became

apprentices to learn a trade, or continued in school while helping younger children.

To “rake the genius from the rubbish” in an Agrarian society, we:

STRUCTURESHow do we organize to

get what we want?


get what we want?



• Taught basic reading, writing, and computation• Teacher paid and housed by the community• Attendance not required – this was parent choice

Practices & Procedures:

PROCESSES

What practices/


What practices/




An agrarian, upstart nation forging a new democracy and settling a vast country, created an education system to help America identify the best and brightest while providing a voluntary, basic education for the masses.

An agrarian, upstart nation forging a new democracy and settling a vast country, created an education system to help America identify the best and brightest while providing a voluntary, basic education for the masses.

This design was well suited to the needs and sensibilities of the time: Economic Political Social Educational


Industrial America: 1890 - 1980Industrial America: 1890 - 1980

CONTEXT



• Rapid industrialization• Mass immigration• Mass migration to the cities• New job – working for a wage• Huge disruption in how people lived

and worked

• A way to “Americanize” the immigrants• A way to deal with large numbers of children

in the cities• To prepare large numbers of children to

become factory workers• To prepare a small number of children to

own and manage factories

The World of America was about: Americans wanted and needed:


FUNCTIONS

What do we want our


What do we want our


• Efficiently and effectively sort out the “smart” kids (based on reading, writing, and math skills) from the “not so smart” kids.

• Model itself after the factory to become highly efficient and standardized.

• Prepare masses of children for the standardized, repetitive work they faced in the factories.

• Provide basic reading, writing, and arithmetic to the masses so that they could participate in society.

Industrial America wanted education to:

Jefferson’s vision still holds Jefferson’s vision still holds

While the context had dramatically shifted from agrarian to industrial, Jefferson’s vision for education fit well with the needs of an industrial economy:

“To rake the genius from the rubbish.”



• Designed school around the factory model of efficiency and standardization:• Batch kids by age and treat them as products.• Simplify and standardize the work of teaching by separating out subject

areas and topics within subjects (math – algebra – algebra II)• Create tight, unwavering cycle times that would determine who could

keep up and who was “defective.” (13 years, 180 days, 7 hours, 50 min)• Institute tests and exams to inspect the quality at the end and to “sort

out” the bright from the dull.

To “rake the genius from the rubbish” in an Industrial society, we:


get what we want?


get what we want?



• Taught basic reading, writing, and computation.• Developed curriculums and syllabi to ensure

everyone was exposed to the same material at the same time.

• Focused on memorization.• Instituted strict behavior, discipline, and attendance

policies.• Used “grades,” like the meat packing plant, to label

the products.• Improved the “aptitude” and “intelligence” test to

more efficiently sort and select the children.


PROCESSES

What practices/


What practices/


Grade A!



An industrialized, bustling, growing superpower, America created an education system to help fill the factories, employ millions, and do so efficiently and with high standardization using the best mechanical systems thinking of the day.

An industrialized, bustling, growing superpower, America created an education system to help fill the factories, employ millions, and do so efficiently and with high standardization using the best mechanical systems thinking of the day.

This design was well suited to the needs and sensibilities of the time: Economic Political Social Educational


Post-Industrial America: 1980 - PresentPost-Industrial America: 1980 - Present

CONTEXT



• Rapid globalization• Mass immigration• Technological explosion creating

highly connected/networked society• New jobs – work shifting to jobs

requiring more mind than body• Huge disruption in how people are

living and working

• To stay competitive in a post-industrial world• To prepare large numbers of children to

become knowledge, high-technology workers• To prepare large numbers of entrepreneurs

and innovators.• To solve the economic disparities plaguing

the country.

The World of America is about: Americans want and need:


FUNCTIONS

What do we want our


What do we want our


• Effectively and efficiently help all children learn to a high level.

• Prepare masses of children for the highly contextualized and intellectually demanding world they face.

• Go beyond the old “basics” to ensure that children are lifelong learners and knowledge seekers.

• Provide avenues for the disadvantaged to realize the “American dream”

Post Industrial America wants education to:

Jefferson’s vision no longer validJefferson’s vision no longer validWhile the context is quite similar to the shift seen from agrarian to industrial (mass immigration, migration to cities, new ways of working/living) it now demands that all our children learn and develop to a high degree. The “tried-and-true” vision to:

“Rake the genius from the rubbish”

While the context is quite similar to the shift seen from agrarian to industrial (mass immigration, migration to cities, new ways of working/living) it now demands that all our children learn and develop to a high degree. Our new vision is to:

“Unfold the potential of every child.”


• Design school around the learner:• Organize children by what they know and can do.• Integrate subjects to help students understand the inter-relationships of

the subjects.• Create fluid, flexible structures that allow the student to move through

the system at the pace best suited for them.• Engage the larger community in connecting and learning with children.• Allowing children’s passions and interest help drive their learning.

To “unfold the potential of every child” in a Post-Industrial society, we must:


get what we want?


get what we want?



• Develop individualized learning plans for each child.• Develop assessments to determine what a child

needs and if they have achieved the learning level to move on.

• Focus on inquiry and integration of subject matter.• Allow student passion and interest drive learning.• Develop teams of teachers who consistently interact

with one another and students to create and plan – providing a model for the behavior demands of the age.


PROCESSES

What practices/


What practices/





A global, networked economy is driving a new American economy based on innovation, creativity, and knowledge. In order to continue to be a significant force in the world, America must employ millions in a new knowledge-based economy by ensuring that all children learn and develop to their maximum potential.

A global, networked economy is driving a new American economy based on innovation, creativity, and knowledge. In order to continue to be a significant force in the world, America must employ millions in a new knowledge-based economy by ensuring that all children learn and develop to their maximum potential.

This design is well suited to the needs and sensibilities of our time: Economic Political Socially/morally Educational


CONTEXT

FUNCTIONS

STRUCTURES

PROCESSES



What do we want our


What do we want our



get what we want?


get what we want?

What practices/


What practices/


We seem to be stuck here, arguing over which factory-age solutions we should try without fully understanding the implications of the context we are in and the new functions we need education to perform.


Educating iowaEducating iowa

• So. . . Will you join us in conversation and dialogue to help ensure our great state is asking the right questions and solving the correct problems?

• We look forward to you joining our network of people passionate about education and interested in helping define what an education looks like that:

UNFOLDS THE POTENTIAL OF EVERY CHILD


Documents

Understanding the education System An overview of the history and purpose of education in America The project Understanding the Education System is available