Read Gatto's book. Public schools have never been about education.
Hmmmm. Well, I've read enough reviews and excerpts of Gatto's book to get a feel for her point. However, it does not match up with the reality I have actually observed, rather than had recited to me through the writings of an author whose bias cannot be ignored.
I can point to three different principals and at least 15 of my kids' teachers over the years (which is nearly all of them, BTW) for whom your comment would be completely false. And, just to be clear, I do not say that without actually having met and known the teachers, and their motivations.
I do not deny the presence of some of the agendas you're talking about, nor do I deny the pervasiveness of them. But I do reject your characterization of what "public schools have never been about." That's just plain crap.
I suggest you take off your ideological blinders and actually visit a few schools before you take Gatto's book at face value. And until you come up with a rational alternative to "schooling," I'm going to have to dismiss your posts as uninformed rants. Sorry.