Web Blog Entry #1 "Makers and Innovators"

Education has various influences through multiple sources which mold, shape, and transform schools, teachers, and curriculum into the unique and complicated organism we call the education system. Deborah Meier is an “Innovator” whose influence on the public school system in the heart of East Harlem has spawned a philosophy and method of educating students that has been modeled across the nation. By creating an environment in which there is both student and community involvement Deborah Meier transformed not only the way the schools in New York City operated but also the way the communities viewed public education.
Henry Ford, pioneer of mass vehicle production through the use of assembly line technologies, is viewed by some as a “maker” of education influences. It is not his direct influence on education as much as it is the premise of how his ideas on business transformed society. Henry Ford’s impact has brought about change in the way society viewed education, as the shift moved from education of intelligence toward an education for employment.
The main differences between the makers and the innovators is that the innovators have had a direct impact and are “in the trenches” of the education system. The Makers have had more of a societal impact which has adapted different views on education through changes in civilization. Unfortunately, the impact of the innovators has not had the global impact as that of the makers. If an innovator could completely change societies views on education imagine the possibilities of what education system could become. However, in an economically driven world it remains near impossible to project a change away from education being anything other than a stepping stone to the working world or a societal requirement.