Public education (or conveyor-belt education) - A public education prepares everyone for a job, any job, by teaching them what to think. Public education historically existed to teach the poor so they could land a job. The poor had no other option, but public education. Today, most of America only receives a public education. Their education is set up like a factory: everyone in the class gets the same education at the same age from the same textbooks, and they are tested the same and graded based upon the same scale regardless of their individual talents, goals, interests, personal mission. Conformity is the name of the game in public education.That's not what I want for my kids...
Today I was discussing with friends who homeschool their children about the prevalence of Ritalin prescriptions and the increase of "ADD" diagnosed children. Their homeschooling teacher (connected with a charter school in Northern CA) mentioned that a lot more children than even last year enrolled in the charter school have been diagnosed as having ADD.
My friend noted that when she brought her kids in for a regular medical checkup, the doctor probed and pressed the kids and mother about their performance in school, grades, whether they have "learning difficulties" and was pressing to try to prescribe medication. My friend was horrified, and learned that this is now standard.
Doctors are trying to force feed kids prescription medicine and diagnose as many as possible with learning difficulties. This is whole 'nother topic, and yet another very good reason to homeschool.