As I reflect on the readings from PBS and Gatto concerning education, my initial personal thoughts lean towards, “I want to be an innovator”. I want to make a difference in my students’ lives, not manufacture them to fit big business or government. Without researching and expanding my understanding of “innovators” and “makers”, my conclusion would be that the innovators’ aspirations are for the students while the makers’ aspirations are for consumerism.
I feel it is important to understand the difference between an innovator and a maker. According to dictionary.com (2011), “an innovator introduces something new or makes changes to anything established”. The synonyms for innovator are groundbreaker, trailblazer, or pioneer. The education innovators presented by PBS, paved the way for the public education system. PBS presented nineteenth century innovators that cultivated education and piloted the way for twentieth century innovators.
Horace Mann is a nineteenth century innovator that influenced public education. Horace Mann allowed his childhood educational experience in a one-room schoolhouse to enable him to start and lead a crusade for public education (PBS, 2011). I feel Horace Mann’s influence is recognizable because his leadership and persistence established a need for reform in public education. His voice laid the path and educated other innovators that would make changes throughout the nineteenth and twentieth century.
According to dictionary.com (2011), “a maker is a person or thing that makes, manufactures, or fabricates. The synonyms for maker are designer or engineer. The makers discussed by John Gatto are wealthy entrepreneurs who steered the way for classrooms to be viewed as a human resource to big business and government.(Gatto, 2000-2003) The makers attempted to manufacture or redesign the educational system established in the nineteenth century by innovators such as Horace Mann. I feel a maker such as Andrew Carnegie is recognizable because one cannot argue that he was a successful wealthy man in spite of only four years formal education (Resetar, 2005), but I do not believe his success can contribute to true educational reform.
In conclusion after reflecting and researching the innovators and makers, my initial response still holds true, “I want to be an innovator”. I do not want to manufacture or construct my students to fit big business and make a select few wealthy. I want to be an innovator and attempt to reach individual students.
References
Gatto, J. T. (2000-2003). The Odysseus Group. Retrieved September 10, 2011, from
PBS. (2001). Retrieved September 9, 2011, from www.pbs.org/kcet/publicschool/index.html
Resetar, N. P. (2005). Retrieved September 10, 2011, from
http://www.dictionary.com/. (2011). Retrieved September 10, 2011, from http://dictionary.reference.com/
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