The setting in which I found McDonalidzation most prevalent is the Public Education School System. Public school systems have been heavily influenced by assembly line production and the characteristics of McDonaldization. I will briefly summarize the characteristics and how they tie into the public-school education system. Efficiency is one of the most important defining characteristics of McDonaldization because of the United States’ focus on capitalism, making a profit and cutting costs while limiting the number of workers. Industrialization and the invention of the assembly line were very successful and heavily influenced businesses, governments, and especially the classroom. Predictability- The success of McDonald (McD)’s may be attributed to their ability to be consistent. People often turned to McD’s because it was novel, innovative, and unassuming.
“Not only the food is predictable; the physical structures, the logo, the “ambiance,” and even the personnel are as well” (Ritzer 374). The way products are produced and consumed are controlled in order convey simplicity but also predictability. Classrooms often resemble
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It creates a mass production of education and does not effectively educate the population. Chicago Public Schools, for example, have lost funding from the city recently because Mayor Rahm Emmanuel wants to build a Police Academy instead (Chicago Sun Times). In addition, multiple schools on Chicago’s Southside and Westside have closed and have been sold as lofts and apartments. If this is not a representation of society or where our priorities lie, I do not know what is. Our city elected officials fail to prioritize educating low income, minorities, and people of all races and types etc. “The future of our cities will be largely what education makes it and the future of our country will be largely what the cities make it” (40