Abstract
This essay proposes a reflection on the social function of the school, tracing a brief history of contextualization of the origin of the school and its roles in different historical and social moments. It starts questioning the knowledge that circulates in the school environment and its relevance for maintaining the organization of classes, as well as the interests imbued in them. The idea of cultural and intellectual heritage proposed by Bourdieu is developed in dialogue with authors who bring different perspectives to Bourdieu’s, to promote a dialectical movement in search of meanings for the question that sustains this writing. As a contribution to the complexity of the issue, one can add the scenario of the current crisis in Education, which seems to expose the very duality of thought and development of modern societies. If, on the one hand, there is a need for expanding and valuing freedom and desire as a form of movement of the capitalist machine, on the other hand, there is still a need for discipline on the part of the working class for the labor market, which is directly reflected in the chasms of inequalities of schools in different contexts in Brazil.
School; Education; Social Function