Why are sociologists often critical of the idea of universal education as a great equalizer that creates a freer and equal society?
1) Schooling and education-particularly literacy-creates elitists who wave their educations around as signs of being better than others.
2) Work carries with it more practical knowledge than schools can teach.
3) Contemporary schools often carry within them a hidden curriculum that reproduces social inequality.
4) Schools reinforce critical-thinking skills that make it difficult for social scientists to educate people without them questioning their authority.
