The correspondence theory basically says that the way schools are set up and the way work places are set up are meant to mirror each other in order to continue social reproduction. On page 12 it says: "Bowles and Gintis argue that strong structural similarities can be seen in 1) the organization of power and authority in the school and in the work place; 2) the students' lack of control of curriculum and the workers' lack of control of the content of his or her job; 3) the role of grades and other rewards in the school and the role of wages in the workplace....; 4) competition among students and the specialization of academic subjects and the competition among workers and the fragmented nature of jobs." This theory suggests that working class schools teach the children discipline because the parents want it that way. They are part of the working class and have been taught to listen to authority, take orders, etc. So they feel that in order for their children to survive in the future, they need to be taught in schools how to take orders and be extremely structured. On the other hand, middle class schools teach the children to be their own bosses. They have more open structures and allow the children to make decisions on their own. This is also because their parents have jobs where they are decision makers or bosses and they feel their children need to learn those values in order to survive in the future. Why would teachers and principles organize their school's like factories? Well, I don't think they do. And I don't think factories organize themselves like schools. I think that it is basic human nature to feel better about doing something if there's something in it for you. If you run the race to get a cookie, your eyes are on the prize. That's just basic knowledge. So I think schools and work places use meritocracy because they know that's what's going to motivate the individual people.