“The tendency is to transform the school into a mere knowledge factory, where drill upon lifeless subject matter is made an end in itself. In such a routine of mechanized procedure, quite the antithesis of the modern project activities discussed elsewhere…the formal disciplinary finds a congenial environment for his soul-dwarfing, Gradgrinding methods of instruction… If the child is to be able to ‘see life steadily and see it whole’, nothing less will suffice. Physical education, scientific temperance instruction, biblical instruction, and sex education, as well as the usual activities of the classroom should all be considered in the light of this supreme objective from which they cannot be logically divorced. The personality of the teacher, the many subtle and indefinable influences of daily social contacts in the classroom and on the playground, are so powerful, though less tangible means of molding character”
It seems that even in early BC education, there were many who saw the industrialization method as an improper application for educating children.
These concerns are echoed in South America by Paulo Ferreira and find place in today’s school board meetings.
