According to randall collins, our educational system is much like a "tribal initiation rite," a "secret society," or a "closed occupational caste," not a rational system that produces more efficient production, but a mechanism for: creating gender inequality in the workforce. reproducing the existing class structure. punishing those who deviate from mainstream american values. teaching the values and ideals that we need to function in society today. making inner-city schools extraordinarily unhappy places.