That's the Way We've Always Done It

I am reading a book called Teaching the Digital Generation by Kelly, McCain and Jukes. It examines how educators can address the learning needs of secondary students immersed in a digital world by designing and implementing new instructional models and technology infrastructures. It starts by examining our railroad system.

Today in North America, the spacing between the rails on railroad tracks is always 4 feet, 8 1/2 inches--- a rather odd and seemingly arbitrary number. It is said that the reason that this particular spacing is used is because that's the rail spacing they used to build the railroads in England, and Englishmen built the railroads in America. So why did the English use that measurement for the spacing? It was because the English railcars were built by the same people who built the horse-drawn wagons in the pre-railroad era. That's the axle width wagon makers had always used, so they just kept on using it when they built the first railroad cars. Why did the wagon makers use that particular axle width? They did this because, if they used any other axle spacing, the wagon wheels would break on the sides of the established wheel ruts on English roads. So, where did those old rutted roads come from? The first long distance roads in Britain and Europe were build by Imperial Rome for the use of the Roman military, and they have been in use ever since. Why did the Romans use that particular axle spacing? That was the width of the two horses that were used to pull the chariots. Thus, the North American standard railroad track spacing of 4 feet, 8 1/2 inches derives from the original specification for an Imperial Roman war chariot.

This story is a great metaphor for our public school system. Schools were designed and developed for an Industrial Age that no longer exists. At the beginning of the Industrial Age more than 90% of students lived on farms or in rural areas. The school year had to be conceived as a seasonal accommodation. Why hasn't it changed? Because that's the way we've always done it. It is time to rethink some of these outdated notions. On Wednesday I will be taking a field trip with a group of students. As we board the train, I will be sure to point out that the tracks are 4 feet, 8 1/2 inches apart.