Dewey

One important idea is that society exists through a process of transmission. There is a communication of habits of doing, thinking and feeling. Older people are passing their ideals, hopes, expectations, standards, and opinions to the youth just coming in. This is similar to what we do as educators. We are getting them ready for the real world. Especially in special education there is a major focus on life skills.
Another important idea is the balance of formal and informal education. In special education I think the informal education happens most often. The population I work with are difficult. They don't have stability at home, so therefore we often teach them things they should have already known. How to communicate, proper ways to behave etc. These are the concepts that are enforced in our classroom. We do formal education as well, but these kids are not your typical student. They have tough backgrounds and their education requires consideration of that. There is definitely a need to balance the two.
Lastly, persons do not become a society by living in physical proximity. I think this is important because you can't just be living near someone and be a society. There needs to be communication in order to be a society. A society is a group which share the same ideals. If there is no communication of what is expected then there isn't a society.