This article considers the workings of the state education system, which is almost the same throughout developed countries. Studies on education that became widely known in the 20th and 21st centuries are analyzed, such as John Dewey’s Democracy and Education and Experience and Education, Alexander Neill’s Summerhill, John Raven’s The Tragic Illusion: Educational Testing, Ivan Illich’s Deschooling Society, and John Goodlad’s A Place Called School. The practice of the American school is paid special attention, with reference to personal experiences. The declared purposes of education are compared to the actual goals teachers set themselves. Federal legislation for a new reform of education in the US is also considered. The authors arrive at the conclusion that attempts to create a progressive and democratic education system during the last century have failed.