People socialized with their peers before widespread mandatory schooling existed. This is the first argument that usually comes up when someone makes the outlandish suggestion that kids don't need school, and if that is the main reason we should keep school then what is school but not a daycare center? Do we really need the government spending billions of dollars to force us to hang out with our friends?
Where you spend day in and day out growing up is not a low stakes situation.
What should kids do when they're teenagers? Whatever they or their parents want. Work with their dad, take up hobbies, spend time with their peers outside of government buildings, get jobs.
The optimism comes from a rather unique experience and perspective. I was taught to read before I ever started school, and I went to a school for a period of my childhood where I learned far more than my peers in my country within a short period of time. We don't give kids enough credit, we slow the pace for the lowest common denominator and stifle high performers. We spend several years looking at pink and green dinosaurs and watching cartoons about stegosaurus and a is for apple and b is for banana. It is honestly ridiculous, and shows my point again, school is designed to keep kids somewhere so their parents can be off doing more important things than raising their children. It is state mandated daycare.
Why do we just assume most parents are abusive? Some are, sure. But the solution to that problem is to round up every kid every day and stick them in a government building? And that solves the problem of abusive parents how exactly? People still exist in society without school, and I'd argue taking a kid to some building every day of their lives takes them out of society. Most kids do most of their socializing and learning about society during summer, when they're not required to be in school. I'd like to see some sources if you have them that home schooled kids are more dysfunctional than public schooled kids.
Where you spend day in and day out growing up is not a low stakes situation.
What should kids do when they're teenagers? Whatever they or their parents want. Work with their dad, take up hobbies, spend time with their peers outside of government buildings, get jobs.
The optimism comes from a rather unique experience and perspective. I was taught to read before I ever started school, and I went to a school for a period of my childhood where I learned far more than my peers in my country within a short period of time. We don't give kids enough credit, we slow the pace for the lowest common denominator and stifle high performers. We spend several years looking at pink and green dinosaurs and watching cartoons about stegosaurus and a is for apple and b is for banana. It is honestly ridiculous, and shows my point again, school is designed to keep kids somewhere so their parents can be off doing more important things than raising their children. It is state mandated daycare.
Why do we just assume most parents are abusive? Some are, sure. But the solution to that problem is to round up every kid every day and stick them in a government building? And that solves the problem of abusive parents how exactly? People still exist in society without school, and I'd argue taking a kid to some building every day of their lives takes them out of society. Most kids do most of their socializing and learning about society during summer, when they're not required to be in school. I'd like to see some sources if you have them that home schooled kids are more dysfunctional than public schooled kids.
Teachers are glorified babysitters.