Do teachers ultimately perpetuate the system that oppresses us by enabling it?

So I feel like no matter how hard we try, we are all complicit. I can be the best teacher ever, my students will be super successful (valedictorian, Harvard, etc.) But it’s ultimately to fuel capitalism and oppression.<br><br>This is really mind-bending to me. I’m a relatively progressive teacher but I still have to give tests and grades and homework. I have to promote the idea of good grades and college because the alternative is often worse outcomes for my students. <br><br>I would like to think that my students could go on to do great things and use their privilege to help change things. But if we’ve learned anything from history, it’s that those in power do not relinquish it. <br><br>Idk maybe I’m just feeling a little hopeless. <br><br>Edit: thanks everyone for pointing out that I sounded like an anti-capitalist that has never actually read Marx. You’re right, I haven’t. But what I do know is that one person or a small group of people cannot change society. I understand that I do have a lot of privilege and power in the classroom and I try to use it to help my students question things but I am still just a cog in the machine and I know that no matter what I do, I will not be able to help my students reach their full potential or help them realize the harm the system causes them.