[Izzy Dunne]

True, the Eliot piece I quoted from was circa 1892, I would hope that things have changed some. Still, that set the tone and the task for the "reform" to follow, and the effects are still there.
Maybe your area has broken out of the mold. To some degree, change has been brought about by the existence of alternatives - the decriminalization of homeschooling, for example. Even the threat of pulling out has its effects on the system.

Still I woud venture a guess(and it's no more than that) that your situation is closer to the exception than to the rule.

[moog]

I can't say it's the exception or not because I don't know enough areas to say if it is or not, but it is the case in the two areas I know of. And I just mentioned just a smattering of the things available.
We are one of the few countries where you can get an education at any age. I remember riding home on a train years ago and meeting an 87-year-old college student. He was still interested in learning more. There was a 91-year-old high school graduate here some years back.
I imagine sometimes that it depends on our perceptions. Sometimes the stuff we see in the media with all the doom and gloom can affect us.