"Even the fact that the system has a lot of stupidity in it has a function. It means that people are filtered out for obedience. If you can guarantee lots of stupidity in the educational system, like stupid assignments and things like that, you know that the only people who will make it through…. are people who are willing to do it no matter how stupid it is, because they want to go to the next step…
Well, there are people who don't do that. There are people who say, "I'm not going to do it, it's too ridiculous." Those people are called "behavioral problems."
They end up in the principal's office, or in the streets, or selling drugs, or whatever. And all of this is a technique for selection for obedience." ~Noam Chomsky