It Starts in the Classroom: Social Control

I thought a conversation we had last Thursday was very interesting. We talked about Au’s ideas on social control stemming from the classroom in traditional foundation of education. He explained how during the time there was a lot of economic unrest. Many workers becoming “disobedient” and fighting the leaders. This ended in many casualties. His ideas references Taylorism in the workplace. Taylorism achieved the work efficiency by breaking down the work process into simple tasks for workers. In a sense the social aspects of the work place worked like a machine. They had a certain time to work, to each, and to leave. During civil and economic unrest of the time, it was seen as most important to socialize education to fit this Tayloristic ideal. Thus address the root of the problem. Educating workers in the classroom to fit the mold of the ideal factory worker.

This inspired our discussion on social control in the classroom. How too often we take most of what we learn and the systems and structures of schools for face value, when there is so much rooted into everything a student experiences and is shaped while at school. I also read the article by Jesse Paul on the students walk-outs. They discussed a school board decision to avoid any classroom material that condoned “civil disorder, social strife, or disregard of the law.” This, most of their history content changed. The students protested, arguing that their history comes from revolutionary civil unrest. That they have a right to learn every aspect of their history. This made me think about current social unrest right now. The many conversations about police brutality. That to those in charge, this may be a scary topic, and to target the root of this issue, students must avoid any conversations about civil disorder. I considered how today much of how members of our society are shaped come from school. To never talk over someone, to respect our leaders or those in charge, and to fall in line. This article on student protest inspired a movement on how students should have a big say in how and what they should be taught. That too much is in the hands of the system. A system that some may say, aims to control its students and soon to be citizens of our American society.

In what ways did your schools, or here at Bucknell, shape who you are as a citizen? Is this good or bad? And for who?