School as the central ISA

Althusser brings up, the subsequently expounds upon the fact that he believes that school has replaced religion as the dominant ideological State apparatus, a fact with which I have to agree.

In the most superficial sense, school seems to simply be the education of individuals, primarily children. However when observing the school system in depth, you see that it is actually much more than this. Most children are in school everyday at the age of five, with some attending preschool even before this. It is in this everyday experience that they really being to learn how to have social interactions with their peers. These interactions are not always deemed "appropriate," which necessitates the need for a teacher or another adult supervisor to be present to ensure that the children are acting "appropriately" and instructing them in how to do so. It is in this instruction that the apparatus becomes clear. The standard for what is considered appropriate is enforced by the adults at school, but are set by what society has taught them, in their own schooling and in their subsequent lives. This will likely lead to the children developing similar thoughts as to how society should function and will affect them going forward with their lives. Here the apparatus is clearly at work, shaping the minds of the children and continuing the ideologies set forth by the dominant figures of the time.

In the current schooling system, this idea is only expounded. With many schools having specialized areas of study for a wide range of subjects, students will now not only be confronted with ideas not only of how to function in society at large, but also how they fit in to a particular field of study, or work. For example, when a student starts school he or she will probably spend the first ten years of his or her education learning the basic subjects like math, reading, and writing, while also becoming acquainted with how to interact with a wide range individuals on a daily basis. With the current school system it is possible for this student to spend the latter years in high school and any post secondary education learning about a specialized field, like a technical industry for example. The student will now be learning both critical skills for their future career, but also how said career fits into society overall, and what is required to co-exist with the small group of people whom they will be working closest with. For example if a student is learning about welding, his or her instructor will almost without doubt be experienced in the welding industry. The instructor will inevitably pass along some ideas on how the welder fits into the greater society and what it is like to live that life. Now the student has been subjected not only to the large overall apparatus about how to fit into society, but also a more specific apparatus dealing with how to be a welder and what that means for them as a unique member in that society.