The (un?)American school system (Score 1)

Having read your page as was recommended before posting here, I couldn't help but notice your interest in education. However, in my opinion, the current system of education used in the United States is, to put it gently, faulty. People with talents and interests that lie outside the one-size-fits-all curriculum -- and even ones whose interests lie in less mainstream parts of the curriculum, such as phys ed or computers -- are singled out as unintelligent or unmotivated. People who try to make friends in unique ways, or who don't try to make friends at all, are seen as unstable. People who -- heaven forbid -- don't want to sit still and/or pay attention are drugged such that they do. People who have a life outside of school, whether social, employed, or otherwise, are frequently penalized for this, albeit indirectly through poor grades. I won't even get into my own experiences...

In short, Mr. Wozniak, our school system is not designed with the needs of children in mind, but with the needs of mass-producing "educated" people who will meekly do whatever is asked of them. It's not even good at doing that invisibly -- the system clearly fits neither the younger children whose instincts are to go out and play and explore nor the teenagers who need the freedom to discover their own identities, desires, and places in the world. The school system's role as a driving force towards conformity has become particularly clear in the wake of Columbine, as Jon Katz has already pointed out.

Do you see any solution to this problem? What can be done to give everyone the start they need and deserve in life?

Everything that needs to be said, nothing that doesn't.