Why is a classroom run like it is?  Why  are students made to sit and stay as they are? Why do they have to ask to do all the things that come naturally to a person such as go to the bathroom or get something to eat?  The simple reason is that not only is the classroom a microcosm of the world, it is an exact representation of the average world that the average worker will move into in our society. When the classroom concept of today was created it was created in such a way to prepare the students for the new and upcoming business world. 

The new and upcoming business world that was emerging in the late 1940’s early 1950’s was a environment of desks in a row with a manger looking over the whole scene. The exact model that is, to this day, the example of a class room environment. The basic business model of the middle class job of today has a group of cubicles in a row.  At the end of these cubicles is a “team leader” or a “supervisor”.  In a corner, in an office bigger than the cubes and in many cases a quite large cube itself, there sits a manager that it is assumed know more and has more experience than all of the other workers.  The employees are discouraged from getting up from their desks, and they are also discouraged from frequents trips to the restrooms, vending machines, or even the talking to of other coworkers.  If they are away from their desk for an extended amount of time, they are questioned as to their whereabouts and their reasons as to why they believed this was a good idea.  As a former worker in many fortune 500 companies and call centers that are based on this model that creates this environment, I experienced these actions and the repercussions that are forced upon the employees that break these cardinal rules.

It is pointed out that these rules are in place to keep the workplace working most efficiently, and that the employees can not work to their maximum potential without these rules in place.  However, it has been shown in many studies that “a smaller group environment with a worker given choices as to their time management, they will become more efficient.” (Marzanno, 1995)  It has also been found that when a group of workers are allowed to cooperatively work in a fast paced, choice based, work encouraged environment “the output in exponentially increased.”(Covey, 1999)    

However, our society is one of stagnancy when it comes to education and workmanship.  We, as Americans, have always believed in the “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it”mentality which was seen in a glaring example in the great Japanese car manufacturer shift of the 1980’s.  Because of this, the school environment has stayed exactly the same and still prepares our children for just this kind of environment.  In fact it mimics the environment to a tee.  The largest desk is say in a corner, and belongs to the teacher who it is believed knows more and has more experience on the subject in which they are teaching.  They oversee and tell the entire class what they need to do, and how they need to do it.  it is assumed in a glaring way that the Teacher knows the exact and right way of doing everything.  There is no room for creativity or second guessing of the teacher’s authority, much like that of the upper level boss.  If there is a teaching0assistant, they are below the teacher but it is understood they know more than the students, or they would not be in the position they  are in.  This, in fact, often is not the case. 

The students are positioned in perfect rows, mimicking the desk and cubicle environment.  they are not allowed to speak, unless it is with permission or if it is directly related to the lesson.  They can not go to the bathroom, vending machines, or anything else outside of the classroom unless they have specified permission from the teacher or head manager of the classroom.  Anything outside of the “norm”is considered wrong and insubordinate.If a student does not comply to these rules and dictates exactly, they will meet with repercussions that can eventually cause them to be expelled from the school itself.  This expulsions is equal to the stress and reality of getting fired in a company.  By being expelled, a large number of opportunities are held from the student.  Just as getting fired will cause both financial and personal problems for an employee.  These things are held above both the student and worker’s head as a possible and real happening, therefore it is a deterrent for getting out of line in any way. 

The similarities of these two enviroments are too obvious not to be on purpose.  As the archives of the teaching models reveals, it is not a coincidence.  This teaching model has been created and developed exactly for this reason.