It appears that Plato would have taken as rather dim view of what we’re doing here in the United States.

There is no doubt that American education is in decline, but there is a lively debate as to why.  Some social critics, e.g., the late George Carlin, say that it’s a deliberate attempt to make sure that middle-class people, while they’re capable of working in our factories and grocery stores, are incapable of understanding how badly they’ve gotten screwed by the wealthy.

Another theory is that all is simply the result of the neoliberalism that came along about 1980, where the entire public sector–any aspect of government that is designed to help the common American–is being crushed to death.

Plato on Education