The purpose of education

[Blue Dragonfly]

http://www.thememoryhole.org/edu/school-mission.htm

Perhaps you've seen this before. I had an inkling - but wow!!!

[Leatherette]

I am as much of a skeptic as anyone (note sig), but I found that to be a rather sensationalist, paranoia-driven reading.

I grew up out of the US until I was 16, and the schools in other industrialized nations that are out-performing us are not bastions of creativity and laissez-faire. They were way more regimented and there was a lot more kill-and-drill. They had longer school days and many more hours of homework each night.

I respect a lot of Gatto's ideas, but what some men wrote about education back in the 1800's has no bearing on my experiences as former student, former teacher, or present mother.

There are ignorant people out there in the education field, but there are also wonderful, creative ones. You can't take a few carefully chosen quotes by people who have no business "educating" children and damn everyone with them.

L.