highly recommend Peter Grey's articles on Psychology Today http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/200909/why-don-t-students-school-well-duhhhh
John Taylor Gatto tells about the moment where he realized his actual job as a public school teacher was something quite different from what he'd signed on for: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJhSAv-NrDo