Compulsory Public Education is a Form of Social Control It is common belief that compulsory schooling is good for society and it helps us become a more enlightened group of people. Millions of parents send their children off to school every morning in the United States of America; some believe it is good for their young child’s mind and others just do it because failing to comply is against the law. But we need to ask ourselves why school is mandatory, why do we force our children to attend school? The answer to that question is to maintain social order. The United States’, along with many other western countries, government forces us to attend a school that does not promote originality or creativity; but rather mediocrity and conformity. Compulsory public education is a form of social control by definition, attendance is involuntary, it makes the youth simple-minded, and while the opposition may tell you that public school is necessary, this cannot be farther from the truth. First, dictionary.com states that social control is defined as “the enforcement of conformity by society upon its members, either by law or by social pressure.” Without a doubt, the public education system falls under this definition perfectly. It is actually very frightening when thinking critically about this. …show more content…
It is perhaps one of the best ways to mold society to whatever shape the government wants since many people spend much of their young, impressionable lives in a public school. It is at the small age that we are the most malleable and from then on it only gets worse. Compulsory public education is social control by definition, because attendance is involuntary, and it makes people simple-minded. I strongly urge you to think more critically about the points that were made in this essay. Hopefully in the future this system is reformed with a much more adequate system to educate