I have no doubt about that and can even agree with it. However, let's look at what was once considered public education and then what's considered public education these days. Want to take a child from 2000 whose been spoonfed culture through singing, tax payer sponsored extracurricular activities, etc. (therefore less time in the classroom) vs. a child of the late 1800s that actually learned the classics through a strong focus on the basics?
Schools today are not just providing course work in mundane or absurd subjects but have mathematics courses far more advanced than those of my day. Plus advance chemistry, statistics, several foreign languages etc.
We had calculus 20 years ago, same with AP Physics, Chemistry, and statistics. I took German as my foreign language in high school (only because I couldn't grasp French). Mysteriously my entire class of 500 graduated on time with no one left behind and with no one spending time in elementary school choirs over the years.
I do not share the nostalgic view of the old days of education. Only in the best of schools was it really good and in most prepared students only to minimal standards. Often the teachers were not educated themselves sufficiently. And the heavy emphasis on Latin and Greek called forth the same criticisms of "inapplicability" that courses do today. But the needs of the students then were far less complex and technical than are those of today's students.
Most of the people in the 1800s still lived on farms and had no need for much education their jobs and lives were pretty much laid down for most of them. And many of the technically oriented jobs were filled through experience and apprenticeship not formal education. In the urban areas the emphasis was on bringing the newly arrived into the American culture hence teaching the language and assimilation was paramount. In both areas the schools did a fine job.
No one is speaking of kids being "spoonfed culture" either that is not what is happening. Most educators will tell you that increasing the time spent on hardcore academics does not work after a certain amount of time is reached. Breaking up the day with less rigorous activities makes learning more efficient. Taking away recess is very shortsighted in my opinion.
Extra curricular activities have always been important to students in becoming the type of citizens we need. Even 40 yrs ago we had sports, school papers, chorus, band, clubs to assist in making school interesting.
Lets face it most students (especially boys) HATE school and always did. I did not but my kids did. Therefore it is important that there be activities available which can mitigate that hate to some extent.