Is School a Cave?

This is my reply to the "Is school a cave" question posed.
You can see the question here: http://teachingheads.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-02-18T12%3A40%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=1

I think that Plato's cave analogy is definitely very close to what the atmosphere of school is. There are many elements of school that are preparing all of us for life independent of our parents, where we have to learn to fend for ourselves. In fact, more than just school could be considered a cave, our entire childhood, up until graduation, could be considered living in a sheltered environment. It is a sheltered environment, but we are also trapped inside, like prisoners in the cave, until we reach a certain age. The elements of school that prepare us for life outside the cave: Interacting with other people. In school it is with classmates, outside the cave it is with co-workers or neighbours. Obeying orders from superiors. You have to do what the teachers say, or suffer consequences, and in the real world, disobey your boss or break the law, and you can lose your job or go to jail. You have to hand in work on time in school. Miss paying bills in the real world, and you’ll go into debt. The list goes on, and anyone can see that school (whether or not that is its primary purpose) is purely an immense training course for life outside the cave.