What is the purpose of schools? Some would say the purpose of schools is to create a well trained workforce, others to prepare students to become democratic citizens. This essay will examine not only the current conditions of public schools, but also what their primary purpose should be.

After having read several articles on the inequalities of schools I would have to say, using Jean Anyon's terms, that the "affluent-professional" and "executive elite" truly benefit most from public schooling. In terms of social class, it's the talented tenth of society which is involved in discovery, hands on experimentation, and higher concept learning. These upper-crust schools are the ones which push intellectual reasoning, problem solving, and other cognitive skills in the curriculum (Anyon, 142). With help from the community and government these `executive elite' students are being prepared for upper class colleges, upper class careers, and will be able to...