Endless Chains

Many think that Henry Ford invented the automobile.  Wrong. That distinction goes to Karl Benz in 1886. Yes, “that” Benz.  He called it a “Motorwagon” and replaced the horse and carriage.  Of course, the horse and carriage still exists, but largely to provide romantic rides in big cities for a cost that requires installment payments…plus, you are seated downwind of the south side of the horse. Ever see the “Rusty” episode on Seinfeld?   Henry Ford introduced his “model T” in 1908 and for a reasonable cost. Suddenly, cars were much more af”ford”able for the typical American citizen because they were built more efficiently. By the way, the price was $950.00.  Ford was able to reduce his costs by creating an assembly line of workers (paid $5/day) and assigning repetitive tasks to his crews. The process took 84 steps.  In 1914, Ford took this vision much further with the “Endless Chain”, a device that pulled the chassis of the automobile along at a rate of six feet per minute. This increased productivity immensely and  he passed the savings on to the customers as the price of a Model T dropped to $280.00.  This design concept of an endless chain paid dividends for all involved.

In a very short while, your current students will be passed to the next grade level. A third will be leaving our school; possibly forever.  Last year at this time, there were 5^th, 6^th, and 7^th graders you did not know.  Over the last 180 day span, you have come to know them quite well.  Think about this – as we pass our students on to another teacher and another team, how is the endless chain working?  Kids get on this assembly line way back in pre-K and have a culminating event called commencement after successfully completing their high school requirements.  Each year, new concepts are taught to students and deeper levels of understanding are required.  The simple A-B-C’s become a grand research paper complete with citations. 2+3 becomes a story problem that requires a great many steps.  Simply recognizing a type of animal becomes a dissection study of its anatomy and physiology. Naming the fifty states becomes…well, we’re still working on that.  Playing with a parachute in P.E. becomes measuring your heart rate and designing fitness activities to last a lifetime. The list goes on and on and I have not even mentioned emotional maturity and interpersonal relationships. If you are a 6^th grade teacher, your kids just completed 36 feet of the endless chain trip.  7^th grade  is 42 feet and 8^th grade is 48.The chain really doesn’t end at 72 feet, but that’s the length we have them for.  Congratulations on making a difference in lives and keeping the chain moving. This design pays dividends for all involved.