The Education Trap

Bill Gates (Founder of Microsoft), Mark Zuckerberg (Founder of Facebook), Gautam Adani (Founder of the Adani Group)—do you know what all these people have in common?

You’re probably thinking, "Yes, they’re among the richest people in the world and they dominate today’s global economy." And you’re absolutely right. But there’s something else they all share — a lesser-known, but far more important commonality.

They all successfully avoided falling into a trap. A trap that, ironically, most people today are proudly stepping into — including you.

Yes, you — perhaps currently a college student. Submitting assignments on time, maintaining 90% attendance, memorizing books even when you don’t want to, and strictly following every rule. Why? Because you believe that once you graduate, you’ll have a degree in hand, land a great job, buy a big house for your parents, drive an expensive car, get married, send your children to elite schools, and make a lot of money...

But here’s the reality.

After 15 years of hard work, you earn your degree—only to find that no one is offering you a job. You attend countless interviews, only to be rejected over and over for reasons you don’t understand. People start mocking you. You isolate yourself. And your only prayer becomes, “Please, just give me a job.”

Gradually, your self-confidence erodes. You begin to believe you were simply unlucky—that despite your efforts, you couldn’t make it big.

But here’s the truth, my friend — a truth that’s been hidden from you all along.

The education system you’ve blindly followed since childhood? It was never designed for your success. In fact, it was built to ensure your failure. It was created to produce obedient factory workers, not innovators.

You might think I’m exaggerating—but keep reading. By the end of this article, the trap will be crystal clear to you.

1. The Formation of Education System

The year is 1806. A war erupts between Napoleon’s army and the mighty Prussian military. Despite being considered one of the strongest armies of its time, Prussia suffers a surprising defeat. Confused and shaken, the Prussian leadership begins to analyze what went wrong.

After much contemplation, they arrive at an unexpected conclusion: their soldiers, although strong and skilled, were using their own judgment during the war instead of strictly following orders. In contrast, Napoleon’s troops followed his commands with absolute obedience—and that made all the difference.

Determined to never experience such failure again, the Prussian leaders decide to create a system that would ensure soldiers obey orders without question. But how do you achieve such control?

The answer: shape the minds before they learn to think for themselves. Influence young, impressionable brains that don’t yet distinguish between right and wrong. Teach them to accept whatever they’re told as truth. And so, the Prussian Education System was born—a rigid 8-year schooling model.

Under this system, education was made compulsory for children between the ages of 5 and 13. The goal wasn’t to raise thinkers or innovators—it was to produce obedient citizens who would follow superiors' commands without resistance or critical thought. The curriculum was designed not to empower students but to prepare them to take orders and function within a controlled hierarchy.

And it worked. The system delivered exactly what the Prussian elite had envisioned—a generation of disciplined, unquestioning followers. But this invention wasn’t just a local reform. It soon became a global blueprint for what we now call modern education.

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1.1 The Industrial Revolution: Fuel for the Machine

While this educational model was taking root, another monumental shift was happening—the Industrial Revolution (1760–1840). Machines began replacing manual labor, and industrial production soared. Products that once took a month to craft by hand could now be manufactured in a single day by machines.

But there was a major problem—a shortage of factory workers.

Most people were still involved in agriculture or small independent trades. They were self-employed, earning a living on their own terms. Naturally, they had no desire to abandon their freedom and become laborers in someone else’s factory.

So, how could this labor gap be filled?

By using the Prussian education model as a solution. The ruling elite, already impressed by the system’s ability to produce obedient citizens, began implementing similar systems in their own countries—but this time, with a new purpose.

The mission: Create a generation that would be trained, not to think, but to obey. Not to build, but to serve.

Children were taught to believe there was only one respectable path to earn money: become a worker in someone else’s factory. Their creativity was suppressed. Their individuality was stripped. And slowly, as these generations graduated, the shortage of laborers began to disappear.

The trap was working.

2. The Unnoticed Trap: How the System Quietly Consumes Us

The moment a child is born, one of the first thoughts in a parent's mind is:

“I want to send my child to a big, reputable school.”

As soon as you begin to speak, your proud parents enroll you in the best school they can find. Once admitted, they relax, believing:

“I’ve done my part. The school will now shape my child’s future. All I need to do is pay the fees on time.”

You enter school with a fresh, curious mind—overflowing with creativity and potential. A mind that, if nurtured correctly, could do incredible things. But from the moment you step in, you’re handed a syllabus, a list of subjects, and that becomes your world.

From morning to evening, your thoughts revolve around these subjects. You study them, memorize them, and if you dare to think beyond them—your grades suffer. And just like that, you fall into the unnoticed trap.

If you reflect deeply, you’ll realize that your entire school and college experience is structured to mold you into a person whose only goal after graduating is to find a job.

No one ever teaches you how to be self-reliant.

Why?

Because the system was never designed to make you self-sufficient in the first place. Its core purpose was always to supply industries with affordable, obedient workers.

This system produces a workforce trained to follow their boss’s commands, respect superiors, and work tirelessly—month after month—in the hope of receiving a paycheck. And tragically, most people spend their entire lives never realizing they’ve been trapped.

Why?

Because when this trap is laid for you, you're far too young to question it.

By the time you grow old enough to think critically, it’s often too late. Either:

• You’ve already been brainwashed by two decades of following this system and have come to believe it’s the “right” path, or

• You’ve reached an age where responsibilities weigh heavily on you, and even if you recognize the trap, you can’t escape it—because now, you must earn to survive.

You realize that after twenty years of hard work, after pouring hundreds of thousands into school and college, you’re left hoping for a job that pays thirty to forty thousand a month.

So… What’s the Solution?

• Should we stop going to school and college altogether?

• Are we supposed to reject the entire system that millions are a part of every single day?

• Are all these people wrong?

Subscribe and stay tuned for my next article, “Escape the Education Trap” to discover the answers to these very questions.