[Origen]

Source: https://www.leftvoice.org/public-edu...t-perspective/

1. Schools are central institutions of modern capitalist society. We must reject the idea that they are eternal and immutable and that the “natural” way of learning takes place within the four walls of a classroom with fixed times, grade levels, scores, etc. Schools are products of history. They appear in a specific moment and are therefore not natural or eternal. The learning institutions of today are destined to disappear or change along with the society that gave gave rise to them.

2. Public education is an important mechanism in creating social consensus because it is based on the idea that school offers “equal opportunities” for all citizens. This idea of education is a strong legitimating force of capitalism. The idea of equal opportunity under the capitalist system is, in itself, a fallacy.

3. Teaching has a third role: the socializing role. It is a mechanism used to train students to internalize the values, ideas, and attitudes of the dominant society. Educational institutions are especially efficient in legitimating the current social order because schools play a role not only in training workers in the strict sense of giving them skills to be part of the productive labor force but also in the naturalization of the social relations of production.