Overview

Education is the great equalizer… or the great divider. It is how society passes on knowledge, but also how it reproduces inequality.

Core Idea

The core idea is sorting. Schools sort children into “winners” and “losers” (College track vs. Vocational track).

Formal Definition

The social institution for transmitting knowledge and skills, as well as cultural norms and values.

Intuition

  • The Elevator: Education is supposed to lift you up (Social Mobility).
  • The Gatekeeper: It keeps people out (Credentialism). You need a degree just to get an interview.

Examples

  • Hidden Curriculum: What you learn besides math. (Obedience, punctuality, patriotism).
  • Tracking: Putting smart kids in AP classes and others in remedial. Often correlates with race/class.
  • Savage Inequalities (Kozol): Rich schools have iPads; poor schools have leaking roofs. Funding is often based on local property taxes.

Common Misconceptions

  • Misconception: Schools are meritocratic.
    • Correction: Family background is a stronger predictor of success than IQ. Rich kids get tutors; poor kids get jobs.
  • Misconception: More education is always better.
    • Correction: Degree Inflation. Jobs that used to require a HS diploma now require a BA, but the work hasn’t changed.

Applications

  • Policy: No Child Left Behind, Common Core.
  • Economics: An educated workforce drives growth.

Criticism and Limitations

  • Banking Model (Freire): Treating students as empty accounts to be filled with deposits of knowledge, rather than critical thinkers.

Further Reading

  • Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol
  • Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire