I Am Fascinated By Human Behavior

Schools have become indoctrination centres and not education centres. Its no longer learning how to think now it is learning what to think.

Awesome thought... Some schools in this part of the world have recognised the need and are adapting ... Actually the whole system of education needs to be looked at from a holistic growth perspective...some day some time perhaps

Its a shame we strayed away from teaching the basics and honing those well into high school. Teachers don't have the creative input in curriculum as they once had since govt stepped in to tell us what to learn.
My heart goes out to the teachers as many are treated like shit.

The Dumbing Down America
is an excellent book.

I believe it does to a certain extent. School's are filling rooms of 30 kids and teaching the same thing. Some kids don't want to learn that stuff and won't need that stuff for the dreams they have. But the school's are taking all this talent and mushing it down to a narrow one minded section of people who all think the same. However, some kids don't care about the system and pursue their dream straight off the back so its a 2 way thing. 1 it depends on the school seeking out talent rather making them all think alike and 2 it's down to the kid being passionate enough to focus almost purely on their goal in life.

Conformity is mandatory to enable a functional learning environment for all. Through most of the first 12 years students are required by law to be in school. Our schools are horrible at maintaining order, there are so many factors I won't even go into why, but every foreign student I've ever known of who comes to a school here says ours are much less strict. A certain degree of conformity is required for a safe functional society, too and this is the time to learn there will always be rules you must follow whether you like them or not. Creative thought takes a back seat until they have learned the basics, and the first 12 years today have been so watered down they don't even succeed in that.

College is traditionally the place students are taught to think for themselves. Those are doing a lousy job, most are now providing a leftist indoctrination rather than encouraging open minds and free thinking.

No easy answer but our average student who completes high school today is far behind those who do so in many other countries.

Societal productivity and conformity is the goal of education. Encouragement to be individuals is a wonderful thing, but largely we exist to support our societal system and those who govern it.

Perhaps some do, I was lucky throughout my education, my creativity and curiosity was always rewarded.

Yea teachers always shows us different ways but they sometimes prefer another but I usually come up with other ways that may seem odd to them

They'll have to work with other people at some point. I assume teachers just want them to assimilate.

Yes, that is one among a number of reasons why we homeschool.

a waste of time for me