Life as a car

The use of a car as a metaphor for a lifestyle or a relationship or a period of time has become cliché. Fortunately for me, my superintendent has invented a new comparison to the automobile – the life of a school compared with the life of the car. He said: “It’s cheaper to buy a new car than to fix an old one.” Throughout yesterday and today, I have been traveling with this metaphor in mind. (I know, I know – I am towing this idea too far, perhaps.)

So, what is it like, to be part of a car? When he was continuing the metaphor, the superintendent referred to “old pistons” and “batteries” and how hard it is to figure out what is wrong with a car. It occurred to me much later – because I was still REELING from the comparison to an inanimate object now mostly made in Japan – that all of this depends on how good your mechanic is. Wouldn’t the mark of a good mechanic be her or his ability to identify the problem quickly? Wouldn’t a good mechanic be able to save you money, in the long run, as well?

So what my superintendent is really saying is that he DOES NOT WANT TO PAY FOR LABOR when he can pay for a whole new item, altogether. But, what is teaching or a school without labor? Just a building – pipes, heating systems, windows, etc. Good teaching is a lot more like good craftsmanship. It requires close, personalized attention and detailed work.

The teacher is much more like the mechanic than the car because the teacher is constantly adapting things to fit the student and to help the student understand the continuously changing standards of education and of living. If we are thought of as cars, then perhaps our superintendent thinks of us as like books, more than teachers. Fonts of information perhaps specially selected for each student. It is still going to take labor to convert all of this mass into energy – to open the book, for example.

I will have to confess here that I don’t own a car or drive. That said, one reason I don’t is that I don’t want to buy a cheap car which will break down in a year or two. The thought of spending a few thousand dollars for a year’s use of a car upsets me on some Dickensian level. I have always coveted the kind of car which would last five to ten years or so. A car that is safe, tasteful and fairly efficient. A Volvo, for example. Now, people who have Volvos tend to drive them for a while --- about ten years. Until recently, the basic design had not changed much at all, I think to accommodate that kind of customer.

At one time I considered leasing a car – so that I would not have to have the car when it was no longer good. I could just get a new one every few years. In fact, the superintendent had said that, “If the new school doesn’t work, we’ll close it down.” So, true to his low interest in paying a mechanic, he’s just going to keep “trading up” for new schools.

Putting aside the feelings of those of us in the car traded in, how does this lack of continuity work for the students. Will they quickly adapt to the new trend? Just keep shifting gears. If they do not, will he have to bring in a counseling/transition team to help them adjust. Not mechanics, but salespeople – helping to sell the students on the new reality.

What message does this send to our students? Well, perhaps we can understand why the US no longer leads the auto industry. It is making cars which are meant to be disposable in a world in which people actually do still want some return on their initial investment. And in which, they do not choose their cars or their schools by trends, but bydoing research and by using their commitment to their students to help foster a school and community which will both outlive a Volvo.