[mac01021]

I won't argue that this outcome is not terrible.

But even the best education system we have in the world could well be orders of magnitude worse than some other system that's never been realized before.

It's also possible (I don't know - i'm just admitting the possibility) that a system that focuses on teaches young children self-motivation, goal-formation, critical-thinking, personal-responsibility at the expense of traditional academic knowledge could produce adults that are vastly more capable while at the same time leaving kids far behind on traditional academic abilities until they get older and catch up. _If that were the case_, measuring outcomes by something like a standardized test after a 4 year period would show all of the drawbacks and none of the benefits.

[chongli]

young children self-motivation, goal-formation, critical-thinking, personal-responsibility at the expense of traditional academic knowledge

But do those things really require decades of exclusive instruction to form? Or are they mostly something you pick up on the way, as part of your study habits?

If a child reaches adulthood without learning any reading, writing, or arithmetic then it is a terrible tragedy. As a mature student in my mid 30s studying math in university I would not recommend this life to anyone. I’ve lost the better part of two decades of my best working years for building wealth. I’m going to need to do extremely well after graduation if I ever hope to retire.