Ep 35. What is the purpose of education? Money, class oppression, or indoctrination?

The Mindcrime liberty show discusses education, schooling, and the classroom. Why is it that the classroom at all levels is the least criticized institution in society? Is it because college professors and teachers have cushy and high status jobs and want to protect their privilege? Are professors and teachers prison guards? What is the purpose or telos of education? To make money? To achieve technical skills? Promote left wing ideas? Many historical universities were set up as “minister training” schools or theological schools of some variety which have changed far from this purpose. Is the purpose of education effectively obedience training to teach children and these new persons known as “adolescents” how to be good corporate slaves and good soldiers to fight in the states armies. Interestingly after their loss in the Franco Prussian war a Frenchman commented that the schoolmaster would win the next war. Furthermore, if you scrape away the idealist rhetoric of the civil rights movement one of the purposes of universal schooling, in particular for blacks, is to “Americanize” them in order to fight uncle Sam’s wars and be good citizens. So its quite clear that schools under traditional Christian or Socratic merits for the most part fallen far from the mark . Is schooling today merely ideological indoctrination and is there such a thing as “neutral” education free from ideology or theology. Is education merely sheepskin signaling as Bryan Caplan argues? What exactly is education’s purpose?