[WS:] I do not buy this argument. Socialists schools, which I experienced first hand were organized pretty much the same way as capitalist schools were, at least in Europe. In fact, they were geared even more toward the workplace by tracking students into vocational training. A lot of my elementary school friends went that way. They loved the vocational track and they did not think that the college track was at all useful. At some point I wanted to go to the vocational track, but of course my parents disagreed. And I see nothing wrong with vocational training - as skilled "manual" work was respected, often more so than paper-pushing.
The socialist HS was as hierarchical as any other school I have ever experienced, but nobody really challenged that. People generally respected knowledge and education, the US-style anti-intellectualism was rare, even among the people who lacked formal education themselves. In fact, many working class and peasant families pushed their kids to get education - this was nicely documented in the film "The last train home" about China migrant worker http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Train_Home_(film). It was the middle class / "red bourgeoisie" who were more likely to be flippant about education. The teachers of course varied in their skills and abilities but few people questioned their role as teachers. Students of course tried to challenge their knowledge as I just described (the practice known in the vernacular as "bending the teacher") - but even there the underlying idea was affirmation of knowledge and learning rather than disrespecting the role of the teacher.
I first experienced teacher bashing and underlying anti-intellectualism only in the US - and I found it quite repulsive. I can go on about that, but suffice it to say that I decided to send my son to a public school, never ganged up with other parents on school bashing trips, and I always tried to work with the school not against the school on the so-called "discipline" problems of my son. Case in point. My son got a three day suspension for putting "offensive" signs in school. The sign in question was a lewd joke about one of the teachers, but my son claimed it was in retaliation for his political activities (mainly advocacy for Mumia Abu Jamal). I did spoke with the principal and said that I wished he notified me earlier about this whole thing - but I never questioned the decision. In fact I used it as an opportunity to teach my son that he needs to stay "clean" when doing any political action - for otherwise he is giving them a pretext to bust him.
If anything, the US schools tend NOT to prepare students for work, or do much less preparation for work than schools in Europe. This I believe has something to do with the idiotic liberal delusion that everyone needs to go to college (presumably to eliminate social inequality in the US society) - whether one wants it or not. Or perhaps with the liberal contempt for "manual" work and occupations. Or maybe with the political clout of the testing-college admission industrial complex. But the end effect of it that every child is forced to go through the same college-bound curriculum and testing regimen whether he/she wants it or not. And teachers are penalized if the students lag behind or drop out of this forced Drang nach Universität euphemistically called "race to the top'. This has nothing to do with work, only with idiotic social engineering visions of our political leaders.
I can only wish that US schools taught students useful occupational skills and prepared them for productive work. Instead, they prepare them for two things only - how to take standardized tests and how to look good to college admission officers. If they happen to teach any useful skills, it is mainly thanks to the good will and personal dedications of the teachers.
-- Wojtek
"An anarchist is a neoliberal without money."