Malarkey. All of society participated in it in one fashion or another. Early tribes all had "coming-of-age" ceremonies for both male and female youth, who left their homes and entered into training for their adult roles, the girls typically on "woman tasks" and the boys on "man tasks", often with elaborate ceremonies. "Age of maturity" usually coincided with development of adult sexual characteristics, menses for girls, erections for boys. Of course, earliest training was done within the family group.
As society became more complex and divisions of labor developed, educational forms changed, with instruction moving into the guilds and similar organizations, or with individual/master apprenticeships.
You seem to think that "school" consists only of getting a group together within the "students-instructor-classroom" model, which, until recently was a miniscule portion of the societal educational experience, and which, IMO is destined to disappear or at least shrink drastically.
Good point. Da Vinci and Michaelangelo went to school in a shop, learning all the tricks of the trade, and finding very early on, that they excelled. One of the worse features of our educational system is the neglect of vocational training, especially in those jobs involving working with hands.
1) I agree with you that the Prussian-model is likely to disappear. I seriously hope that this is the case. The Internet is blossoming with opportunities. Homeschoolers are walking and living examples that parents can take charge of their children education. What is need now are privately administered and fully certifiable qualifying exams and employers ( and traditional schools) willing to fully accept the results of these exams.
2) Having read many ofSt_Thomas_Aquinas's post, I doubt that he believes this.
If you ask 1000 people, that's how 999 will define the word.
...which, until recently was a miniscule portion of the societal educational experience,
Until the 1800s.
...and which, IMO is destined to disappear or at least shrink drastically.
The teacher unions will fight it tooth and nail. The only hope is for homeschoolers, but they will never comprise more than 10% of the population, at least for the foreseeable future.
Historically, parents have demonstrated a reluctance to give up free babysitting.