[wallflower]

Most organizations spend an enormous amount of money on offices. Offices can be argued are temperature-controlled, resource-hogging (if not LEED certified), calibrated, noise-attenuated (sometimes), free of most distractions (possibly pre-Facebook [1]), constrained, regimented environments with strategic floor layouts designed precisely to get people who are paid a salary to focus and produce value for their company. Schools are similar (witness the backlash against home schooling). Focus is very important but as the OP posits - it is a matter of learned self-diligence and control.

[1] The companies I've heard of that block Facebook, personal email et al. (e.g. financial institutions) typically make it near impossible for work to be brought home (which can be good - separation of work and home).

[rwallace]

Is that actually true? Seems to me the typical office is an ergonomic nightmare designed to tickle some manager's social dominance instincts at the cost of a hefty productivity hit (and schools are similar indeed). Obviously there are companies like Fog Creek that do optimize offices for productivity but I was under the impression these are still exceptions?

[pyre]

  > witness the backlash against home schooling

Not to de-rail the thread, but what is the backlash against home-schooling? I know that it's become more popular in recent years, but people did home-schooling in decades past.