Which is the best form of schooling?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Public.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Public schools are excuses for indoctrination and child-molesting teachers.

Um, no.

Um, yes.

I don't know what public schools are like down in NC but they're not like that u phere in yankeeland.

Down here they're awful. Students are expelled for being weekly churchgoers. (and this is the Bible Belt)

Can you bring up...any actual examples of this happening? Because if this was quite normal we'd be seeing kids expelled left and right.

Side note: Things like blatant displays of homophobia and unwelcome proselytization are not the same as being as a weekly churchgoer.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Given that 75% of the country is Christian, yeah, you would certainly think that schools would be rather ill-attended if every single student who went to church on Sundays was expelled.

Nowhere near 75% of the country goes to church every week.  I'd guess more like 25%.  I doubt 75% go to church even on Easter or Christmas.

Weekly attendence is about 40%, but even then 40% of students aren't getting expelled.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

If I had my way, public schools would be the ONLY legal form of schooling.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Home schooling = a way for fundies to shove creationism into their kids' heads.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Public schools ARE communal schooling.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Oh for the record I would support schooling along these lines (though this is not in specifics what I would have in mind):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summerhill_School

Actually I think you would quite like it there BRTD.

Oh yeah, optional classes. Kids sure are going to go then. Yeah, I probably would've liked it as a kid, just as I would've liked dropping out of high school and being free all day, but I sure wouldn't like things now after that.

And yes, I know college for the most part has optional classes, but that's a completely different situation, plus if you don't do anything your grade suffers, which doesn't sound like it's the case here.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Thanks for ignoring my previous questions. Anyway your response just confirmed pretty much all my prejudices of you; despite how "unconvential" you wish to seem you still think of education as a conveyor belt of children; it's entire function is to produce workers (to put an Opeboesque flavour on it) and if that children don't find into that straight jacket you create for them then they will just fail at life and be horrible people.

I didn't answer your questions because I didn't have the time then. Although granted, anyone else here could answer or argue with you, as you are THE ONLY PERSON ON THE FORUM advocating this bizarre system that I still don't understand how exactly it works (and please don't respond without another one of those 2,000 word articles that constantly beats around the main point).

BRTD, what do you think should be taught in schools?

Early on basic skills needed for life (like reading and basic mathematics), and later advanced material that would be necessary in employment.

What is the function of a school, or of an education for that matter?

To provide people with what is listed above.

What do you think is being taught in state schools as of now or as of, say, 50 years ago?

50 years ago - don't know, don't care, it doesn't matter anymore
today - I outlined my high school curriculum in an earlier post. 4 levels of English, some US History, basic sciences (Chemistry, Biology, Geology) and various electives.

Is it really that different?

Depends on what you mean by "different". There's no more red baiting type things, and of course the changes in science and history have been huge, but the overall way it's done probably hasn't changed massively. But why does it matter? This is like saying there's something wrong with our transportations system because it hasn't changed much, we just use cars instead of horses.

What do you believe is the function of a state school and so on?

First, quit with this stupid f**king "state school" term that I have never ever heard in my life before this forum. Second, the answer to this question lies in all the answers above.