Of course there will be variation, and even outliers, when you compare data from a large geographic area over a long time. But just because there is variation doesn't mean that the generalization is wrong. Generalizations are just that: statements about a larger phenomenon that necessarily ignores internal variation.
I don't think Sal Khan ever insinuated that there has never been a single non-factory model educational system in the West in the last ~150 years. If that's the proposition you're trying to refute, you're arguing against a straw man.
What I think Sal Khan was getting at -- and what I think the other authors mentioned in the article are trying to say -- is that the general social milieu from which the modern educational system arose was biased toward excessive standardization, categorization, and homogenization. After all, that was the world view of industrial modernism. Standardize everything, bin things into neat categories, and throw away products that don't meet the spec.
When you've got an entire generation obsessed with that modernist hammer, everything looks like a nail, including education. No wonder modern schools (and prisons, as another commenter mentioned) ended up with uncanny similarities to modern factories. It needn't have been intended. It needn't have been a conspiracy. It needn't have been imposed from the top down. It could have just emerged spontaneously all over the place. That's how trends and world views work.
Nowadays, commerce is king. Everyone is obsessed with ROI, everyone wants to hire an MBA, everything is explained in terms of supply and demand, and every relationship looks like that between a buyer and seller. Just like the industrial mindset gave birth to last century's schools, this new mindset is shaping today's schools. Schools, and universities in particular, are becoming more and more like a business. Students and parents are being treated as customers, and are being ripped off just like Comcast customers. But the commercial mindset hasn't replaced the industrial mindset; both are alive and well, interacting with each other in very dangerous ways.
Just because there are exceptions doesn't mean that this general trend doesn't exist. In fact, it would be very strange if a society's mindset didn't influence the design of its educational institutions. And if we're ever going to start thinking about the big picture and come up with long-term solutions, somebody needs to raise awareness about general trends, even at the risk of ignoring variation.
>Nowadays, commerce is king. Everyone is obsessed with ROI, everyone wants to hire an MBA, everything is explained in terms of supply and demand, and every relationship looks like that between a buyer and seller.
It is very important to remember this isn't akin to a natural process such as weather nor to cultural evolution. The decisions made over the past 20 years to mischaracterize education as a commercial process are, above all, political decisions and increasingly proven to be the ideological line of hyper-wealthy persons who are actively defunding and destroying public education under the rubric of "reform".
I don't think Sal Khan ever insinuated that there has never been a single non-factory model educational system in the West in the last ~150 years. If that's the proposition you're trying to refute, you're arguing against a straw man.
What I think Sal Khan was getting at -- and what I think the other authors mentioned in the article are trying to say -- is that the general social milieu from which the modern educational system arose was biased toward excessive standardization, categorization, and homogenization. After all, that was the world view of industrial modernism. Standardize everything, bin things into neat categories, and throw away products that don't meet the spec.
When you've got an entire generation obsessed with that modernist hammer, everything looks like a nail, including education. No wonder modern schools (and prisons, as another commenter mentioned) ended up with uncanny similarities to modern factories. It needn't have been intended. It needn't have been a conspiracy. It needn't have been imposed from the top down. It could have just emerged spontaneously all over the place. That's how trends and world views work.
Nowadays, commerce is king. Everyone is obsessed with ROI, everyone wants to hire an MBA, everything is explained in terms of supply and demand, and every relationship looks like that between a buyer and seller. Just like the industrial mindset gave birth to last century's schools, this new mindset is shaping today's schools. Schools, and universities in particular, are becoming more and more like a business. Students and parents are being treated as customers, and are being ripped off just like Comcast customers. But the commercial mindset hasn't replaced the industrial mindset; both are alive and well, interacting with each other in very dangerous ways.
Just because there are exceptions doesn't mean that this general trend doesn't exist. In fact, it would be very strange if a society's mindset didn't influence the design of its educational institutions. And if we're ever going to start thinking about the big picture and come up with long-term solutions, somebody needs to raise awareness about general trends, even at the risk of ignoring variation.