I work very closely with the schools in my town which, incidentally, are supposed to be some of the best in the state. I know many of the people who work in the school system and many of the children and their families. I am going to be moving next week, not that far away, but to an area with a somewhat different demographic. I can't imagine that the differences would be positve ones.
I suppose my statements do sound like sweeping generalizations, but I did state that that is simply my personal attitude. I am sure there are flaws in my logic, and doubtless there are exceptions. I do believe that there is an essential, underlying truth in it though and my daily experiences confirm rather than disprove my opinion. It has nothing to do with being afraid of children learning about Darwin. They should learn critical and independent thinking, and the only way they can do that is by being exposed to differing points of view and learning to put things in perspective. In my experience, the public schools do very little to foster that.
My best school memories are of vigorous guided class discussion and debate. Critical thinking and differing points of view seem to me to be tougher to replicate at home than in school.