Education will be vastly different under socialism than it currently is under capitalism. Under the current system, the quality of education is largely choosen by the capitalist political state, which chooses to educate us in ways that are beneficial to them. Capitalism is portrayed as the best of all possible systems, with socialist ideology barely mentioned and almost always misrepressented as the philosophy of the ill-fated Soviet Union. The name of Karl Marx is written with scorn, and a better society is considered to be pure pie in the sky liberalism with no basis in fact. What's worse, the religious schools teach the metaphysical theory of history, which implies that society is class-divided due to some ill-defined "natural laws," and Judeo-Christian dogma is imposed upon its students. Higher education requires most students to place themselves in massive debt in the hands of legal loan sharks like Sallie Mae, and allow colleges and universities to charge outrageous prices for increasingly necessary education. Futher, education is seen as a temporary thing in life, to be taken up for a few short years and than permanently abandoned in favor of a job that is predicated upon by a vicious labor market. In fact, in education under capitalism, from elementary to graduate school, we are trained to be docile servants of the capitalist class and to become cogs on the labor market. Free thinking, as taught by the liberal arts, is discouraged in favor of "logical" methods of thought (such as a huge emphasis on mathamatics in education and a noticable de-emphasis in the teaching of liberal arts) that are uncritical of the society we live in [this is not to say that mathematics aren't important, because they are; I am simply saying here that liberal arts are often discouraged for their emphasis on critical thinking and math is pushed on students in its place]. Even under the aforementioned liberal arts, alternative methods of running society are barely glossed over, and we are never taught to think independently enough to criticize the system. After all, how can we be thinking critically in a society that is controlled by a political state that serves a despotic ruling class whose sole aim is to maintain its status of elitism and privilege, and not to improve society so that everyone can live a decent and rewarding life?
All of our education is subverted to the infamous "bottom line", and we all end up mentally conditioned into becoming docile servants of the capitalist class. The needs of the employer are given full attention, and we are given "career training" that teaches us how to look best for the aforementioned employer, whose corporate image we must accede to at the expense of our individuality. Independant thinking and the ability to question our society is considered negative and counter-productive, and we are told that we must mold our image in favor of the bosses. Is this what education is meant to be like? Not on your life! There is a far better way, and it is ever within our grasp.
Under socialism, the very material basis of our society will change and improve, and consequently, so will education. One of the biggest problems affecting the education system today is the adoption of a Christian inspired tenet imbedded into our minds by the capitalist class that is similar to the one concerning the nature of work under capitalism: that school (like work) doesn't need to be fun in order to be beneficial. Socialists heartily disagree! If your occupation and education are not considered fun and personally rewarding to you, then the society you live under has a very serious problem. Education and learning must be made fun for students of all ages and levels, otherwise it will fail to hold their attention and even be considered irrelevant to their lives, as well as breeding excessive laziness and a general scorn for education and school, in the same manner as the laziness and disinterest that adults display concerning their jobs under capitalism (you may ask almost any child or adolescant their opinion of our current oppressive school system to see my point).
Students must be taught the virtues of cooperation, and not trained to ruthlessly compete against each other, as is the case under capitalist education. We must be taught to think independently, to criticize all aspects of society, to be able to formulate new and fresh ideas, and not to be fearful of harboring an idea that may not be popular, but may well be adopted in the future. The status quo must not be presented as sacred and eternal, but as ever-changing and open to new ideas, and ever capable of being improved. In a society untrammeled by material competition, students will be awarded and placed in work based on their strenghts and not be penalized for their weaknesses.
In all probability, socialist educators may very well feel that the current method of the "pass or fail" mindset of school, and the severe usage of tests to determine a student's "worthiness" to move on to the next level is unjust, and will be replaced by a less stressful and less emotionally debilitating and personally humiliating method of evaluation. This says nothing of the way "learning disabled" students are cruelly castigated by the education system, despite the fact that it's well known that their "disability" is simply an inability to learn under the single teaching method imposed upon all students under the current education system. All students will be considered as equals, and different methods of learning and teaching will be allowed for the diversity of students' needs. Hence, no longer will any student be labeled "learning disabled" under the socialist method of education, which will not require all students to adhere to the same format for teaching. Everyone will be allowed to explore what form of work will be best suited for them, and in which they enjoy the most. The rigid classroom structure seen in schools today will be partially superseded by field trips to various locales across the globe, which can easily be accomplished in a society in which money is non-existent, unlike today, where a "budget" exists and money must be available for anything to happen. Students will learn to respect diversiity and reject the strict homogeniety, and the need to conform, that pervades and infects American society today. School and learning will become a pleasure that students look forward to, and not a burden that must be endured because the law says we have to do it. In fact, new methods of home schooling may replace certain class room structures, especially after all families can have a sophisticated computer system in the home, but many people will probably favor to some degree the interaction and cooperative teaching ventures that traditional school will allow. It is also very likely that parents and teachers will often be one and the same, rather than two separate divisions of people for students to deal with. This is especially true since under socialism, far more leisure time will be available to all workers, so parents can take a much more active interest in their children's educational upbringing.
Further, unlike today's society, when those under 18 are legally considered "children", adolescants under socialism will be taught from an early age to become active participants in the industrial government, to make informed and rational decisions and be treated with far more respect and offered far greater freedom and trust then the teens of today are, who are usually treated as little more then the property of their parents with few decision making opportunities of their own. This is the source of the extremely high level of teen "delinquency", violence, rebellion, anti-social behavior, substance abuse and nihilism that we see among America's youth today...contemporary talk shows are filled with such teens and their parents, backed up by the incredibly naive attitudes of the talk show hosts, a hostile, politically correct audience, and politically motiviated psychologists and social workers who attempt to mold these young adults into docile automatons who embrace "acceptable" standards of capitalist-benefitting behavior that asserts that they are "too immature" and "incompetent" to make decisions or have any form of responsiblity of their own (which is the same attitude the political state uses to justify its authority over the adult members of the working class...it's quite odd that their parents never seem to notice this similarity), and these young adults are reduced to the role of "children." This is also the source of the rampant immaturity that does exist among many American teens today, and the great contributions made by teens in past societies (such as King Tut, Joan of Arc, Pocahantas, and even Ivan the Terrible) attest to the ability of teens to have a good level of independence and responsibility when they are educated properly.
The economic democracy of socialism will end the problem of "underage" young adults being economically dependent on their parents in the same manner as their parents are economically dependant upon the capitalist class, which results in severe economic bondage to a superior authority for both. Instead, they will be afforded a beneficial mixture of responsibility to society which will enable them to earn their higher level of autonomy while also having a large amount of leisure time available for recreation and for "just being kids" (similar to what the adults will enjoy, regardless of age...supporting the notion that children and teens should be totally free of any sort of responsibility only exacerbates their immature behavior and aberrant attitudes). Further, they will have considerably more say in organizing the curriculla of their schools than teens under capitalism do, who are given but the smallest degree of choice in their educational destinies. However,the favored draconian "solution" to the problem of teen delinquency under capitalism offered by the talk shows is to send them to boot camp, thus using the prized methods of the U.S. military in brainwashing their soldiers into becoming killing machines and to strip them of every last vestige of their individuality, to coercing the teens into accepting their roles under capitalist society as docile instruments of their parents' authority, and to accept their lot in life as "children" with no individual choices, along with being told that they are too incompetent to make any choices on their own (it's amazing that the capitalist class doesn't require all members of the working class to attend boot camp on a regular basis for this reason, though it is quite likely that such a thing will occur if Industrial Feudalism ever comes into being).
This is fully in line with capitalism's usage of brute force to impose order and "discipline" upon the working class, and what is the result? A huge yearly increase in the crime rate and the prison population. If these methods do not work with older adults, why should they be any more effective on younger adults? However, as certain of the Prohibition laws attest, such as the anti-drug laws currently eroding our civil rights piece by piece, the political state of capitalism obviously does not learn from its past mistakes (such as the now repealed anti-alcohol laws).
The socialist solution for this problem is to provide a better social environment for our teens, which will be one of cooperation, not competition that causes them to develop aberrant social behavior that is so often displayed on the sensationalistic talk shows. Instead, under socialism, parents will go from being their teen offsprings' personal owners to valued sources of guidance and support for their progeny's individual choices, and to have a loving and mutually beneficial relationship with each other, not the utterly conflicting one we see under capitalism today.
Higher education will also be greatly improved for the adult student. One of the biggest concerns today against free education giving an allotment to students is that people will "take advantage" of it and stay in school forever so as to avoid having to work, thereby creating a new form of social welfare (and please note how workers are socially conditioned to oppose any type of benefit given to the poorest members of society to ease their burden). Once again, the nature of work under capitalism is not taken into account. Under capitalism, working class students are often forced to work at the same time as going to college at jobs that are completely unrelated to the lessons they are receiving. Under socialism, it is probable that education will indeed be sought after for life, rather then expecting students to receive it for only four years and then never return to update their knowledge with new discoveries and ideas, which is particularly important for those in the medical, engineering and educational fields. The latter fields, as well as many others, require a lifelong commitment to education and to learning new information and techniques. Periodic returns to higher education will be continual for these people, and will probably be done for part of the year when one is not working. Students will be given useful work to do that relates to their field of interest almost immediately upon entering college, and work hours will be generously scheduled around the students' classes. Thus, education and work will not be two conflicting aspects of one's life. Some people who enjoy simple social interaction may choose to work as a bartender and recieve only the amount of education that such a simple job requires, whereas others will choose vocations that require a lifelong system of education. Certain jobs will require this, allowing colleges to become far more integreted systems of learning than they are today. And because all the industries and services will be socially owned, including the colleges and universities, they will always be available to everybody, and anyone who needs either initial or further learning can take advantage of them, with full "alottments" (which, under socialism, means free access to goods and services) for student workers. Since college will be made more fun to the student, it is conceivable that more people will choose to go than is the case today.
In short, under socialism, education shall take on a new meaning, just like work will take on a new meaning. Education will be far more appreciated, and the pursuit of learning and the acquisition of knowledge will replace the base pursuit of personal wealth that we walk over each other to achieve under capitalism. Students will emerge independent thinkers, not docile wage slaves. Learning new things and benefitting society with this knowledge will be the driving force of life, and not simply "making a living." Once social ownership of the educational institutions replaces state and private ownership, the full potential of education for people of all age groups will be possible, and only then. Capitalism is the worst thing for education in the future, and will lead to nothing but a nihilistic, competitive outlook which makes learning under capitalism the same type of burden as working under this system, and continually incites the younger members of society to avoid it.
Note: I suggest to all socialists that they study the Sudbury School method of education, which is a democratic form of schooling. This is likely what the form of school for people of all ages will take in the future socialist society, sans the need to pay a tuition, of course. This author is a youth liberationist and I encourage all socialists to embrace youth liberation as one of the tenets of socialism. Too many youth liberationists today are embracing laissez-faire capitalism as the best type of system to facilitate the full civil emancipation of youths, and as a socialist I want to see more youth liberationists coming under the wing of socialism to see that an economic democracy would be the best way of maintaing full civil rights and respect for people of all age groups. I also encourage all socialists to reject capitalist cultural conceptions of children and adolescents as being inherently incompetent and forced to be dependent upon adults and outside of the decision-making purview of society for the first 18 years of their lives and to respect their ability to have full voting rights as soon as they become cognizant enough to do so in the future Socialist Republic of Labor. For more info on youth liberation as it exists under capitalism, please visit the websites of NYRA and ASFAR, both of which can be easily found by Googling them. Though youth liberation is a single issue matter, I believe all socialists should embrace it, just as we embrace gay rights and racial and gender equality.
