A Latent Function of Schooling: The Importance of Showing Up

"Sociologist Talcott Parsons observed that social institutions have two functions: the written "manifest" function and the unwritten "latent" function. In many cases, the latent function is as important, if not more so, than the official function. One of the best examples of this can be found in the realm of public education. Its manifest function is to help students acquire literacy, reasoning, and academic skills. Its latent function is to help students acquire the behaviors needed to function in a complex social world."

"Back when the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1647 passed the first compulsory public schooling law in North America, they called it "The Old Deluder Satan Act." This made it clear that the main purpose of schooling in mid-17th century New England was not to prepare students for work roles (which at that time were few in number) but rather to make them non-gullible, mainly through direct access to scripture, when encountering the tricks and inducements of the devil."

"Satan is no longer much discussed in the U.S. in relation to schooling, except in a few school districts that have struggled over whether to allow formation of a chapter of the "After School Satan Club." Ironically, the non-gullibility agenda for these clubs (an initiative of the "Satanic Temple," a worldwide "new religion" based appropriately in Salem, Massachusetts) is not to help kids resist the devil but rather to help them resist conventional religious movements."

Sociologist Talcott Parsons distinguished manifest (written) and latent (unwritten) functions of social institutions. Public schooling has the manifest role of teaching literacy, reasoning, and academic skills and the latent role of instilling behaviors needed to navigate complex social life. Early compulsory schooling (1647 Massachusetts) emphasized preventing gullibility through scriptural literacy. Contemporary latent aims include preparing students to become thoughtful voters and to self-regulate. Some alternative schools address dropout by relaxing truancy and discipline rules. The non-gullibility objective sometimes appears in controversies over groups like the After School Satan Club, which challenges conventional religious influences.

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