It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried. --Sir Winston Churchill

I'm not quite going to make that analogy but I will hasten to assert that there are far worse systems of education than ours. Including some that are 'like ours but magnified".

In terms of healthy psychological development and practical skill acquisition the apprenticeship systems of various cultures have been better. Right now I can refer to the school system on one of the Solomon Islands. The culture is that of a primitive coastal village but with western influences. Western teaching materials and a teacher are provided but occurs in the morning for 4 hours a day. No breaks are needed and nor is any pointless time wasting. The children then spend their time surfing. But they surf carrying spears and catch fish while they are doing it.

What appeals to me about that system is:

• The shorter time period.
  • Most of the time kids spend at school is a blatant waste. in particular, in the youngest years a lot of what the kids are doing is 'growing older'. That is what is required for their brains to handle the next critical learning skills.
  • Much more than 4 hours a day of learning is squandered on diminishing returns. The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance suggests that 4 hours per day of deliberate practice (7 days a week for 10 years) is a good approximate guide for how to gain world-class expert level performance in a field. It is remarkably stable across many domains.
• The children's social lives are not dominated by playground politics and are not essentially limited to same age peers.
• Not only are the extracurricular activities physically healthier than more time wasted in classes they are better for brain development too. What is the formula for increased release of and optimized attention control and cognitive performance? Aerobic exercise + activities requiring extensive coordination + a healthy diet including adequate Omega-3 intake. That's right. Spending hours swimming, surfing and catching fish with spears is just about perfect.