Along the same lines the discussion of what in school relates to work is
itself problematic. Maybe what is being taught in school is not a good fit
for what is needed in the work world, but is that necessarily all bad. I
don't want to imply that the way we teach math is acceptable, but rather by
comparing it to math in the "real world" may not be all its cracked up to
be. Maybe we should look at school as an activity in its own right rather
than one that prepares for something else. As was mentioned in the
construction example, the type of math used in school is rarely used in
work. But, a side effect of mass production in contrast to lets say a
tailor is the division of labor in which math might not exist as a whole
but disbursed through the division of labor. Maybe the uniqueness of math
in school, not that it is, could be historical in that it allows one to
see the whole which would be impossible in the "real world". While I
dislike how education has been constructed as a unique form of cultural
activity, I am not willing to give up the ideal of education as unique form
of cultural activity.
Nate