Overview
What if schools actually prevent learning? Ivan Illich argued that schools are just factories that produce compliant consumers. They confuse “teaching” with “learning” and “grade advancement” with “education.” He proposed abolishing schools entirely.
Core Idea
The core idea is Institutionalization. We have turned learning (a natural human activity) into a commodity (Schooling) that must be bought from a certified professional.
Formal Definition
A critique of compulsory education arguing that the institutionalization of education tends to institutionalize society and that “schooling” is often confused with “learning.” Author: Ivan Illich.
Intuition
- The Hospital: We think health comes from doctors.
- The School: We think wisdom comes from teachers.
- Illich’s View: Health comes from living well. Wisdom comes from living fully. Institutions make us dependent and helpless.
Examples
- Learning Webs: Illich proposed replacing schools with “Learning Webs” (basically the Internet, 20 years before it existed). People who want to learn a skill connect with people who want to teach it. No grades, no degrees, just learning.
- Credentialism: We hire people based on their degree (the piece of paper), not their actual skill. This forces everyone to stay in school for 16 years just to get the paper.
Common Misconceptions
- He hated learning: No, he loved learning. He hated school. He thought school killed the curiosity that makes learning possible.
Related Concepts
- Hidden Curriculum: Illich argued that the main thing school teaches is that “you need school.”
- Convivial Tools: Tools that empower people (like a bicycle or a library) vs. Manipulative Tools (like a factory or a school).
Applications
- Unschooling: The modern movement of parents who let their kids learn without school is based on Illich’s ideas.
Criticism / Limitations
- Inequality: Without public schools, how would poor kids learn to read? Illich’s vision might only work for the motivated and wealthy.
Further Reading
- Illich, Ivan. Deschooling Society.