It's introduction into a community: the community of educated people. The classes are a formality. The main thing is induction into a community, a culture. Tha

It's introduction into a community: the community of educated people. The classes are a formality. The main thing is induction into a community, a culture. That's a nice way of saying it, not wrong but certainly rosy colored. A more cynical person might say the degree is a low quality signal you're an adult. The community is about social stratification. And the classes are indeed just a formality.