Justin Tarte, Life of an Educator, echoes one of Hickory Arts' founding principles. A factory? No. A factor? Yes. Quality over quantity... Fact? Absolutely.

Why we shouldn’t treat schools like factories, even if it is more cost-effective

by Justin Tarte, Life of an Educator
July 31, 2010

If you have ever walked into a factory that produces a finished good from raw materials, it is frankly an amazing process. Dating back to the early 1900s, Henry Ford revolutionized the world and the way it manufactures goods. How could one argue with a process that can take different materials and products, and in one smooth motion put them together to produce a brand new flawless product exactly identical to the previous one produced? The assembly line process used in factories around the world is graded on its ability to produce the same product over and over again in the shortest amount of time possible and for the cheapest price possible. We are making a dire mistake by approaching public education in the same manner.

In a factory, you start with the same exact pieces before beginning the first stage of the assembly line process. In education, we start with a unique child with different characteristics than every other child. In a factory, you follow the exact same steps to put the exact same pieces together as fast and as cheaply as possible. In education, we treat each child as an individual, and we use a different set of steps to help that child no matter what the cost, or the time involved. In a factory, you are assessed by how many identical finished products you can produce in a certain time frame. In education, we are assessed by how well we prepare our students to be responsible, independent, and lifelong learners who are able to be successful contributing citizens in a democratic society. Isn’t it time we treat students like students, rather than treating them like manufactured products from a factory?

With state budgets being cut on a nationwide basis, it is imperative we reach out to our policymakers to insist on continuing to fund education. As difficult as it sounds, we need to fund education in a way that has never been funded before. We simply need more... more teachers, more SMALLER schools, more opportunities for students to develop their own love of learning, and more opportunities for teachers to grow personally and professionally. This is a battle, despite the financial restraints, that we can win. If we approach each child as a unique and different individual, meet every child where they currently are, give every child a part in the process, trust every child to do what is right, and most importantly, believe that every child can and will make a difference, we can overcome the easy street of the assembly line.

Please respond to this post with strategies and ways you have achieved this in your classroom, school, or district. We need to spread the word and provide the necessary help and resources to change our factories into schools.

For the original blog and more about Justin Tarte, please visit justintarte.com

McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s are all doing the same thing a different way. Hickory Arts doesn’t have a dollar menu and doesn’t count how many are served. Art isn’t fast food. Keep doing ‘what you won’t do’ and it’ll make a difference.Phill Kirby, Touring Artist