: The problem with schools isn't entirely the difficulty(or lack thereof) of the curriculum. It's also the hierarchial nature in which it is taught. It's also the fact that schools are places where adult authorities SILENCE students who have something to say that isn't what adults want to hear. In fact, this silencing is so omnipresent that the kids soon have nothing worth saying even if they're still being asked to shut up every other minute. Check out Michelle Fine's Framing Dropouts.
Students learn that they have to obey authority, sometimes without good reason. Students have little control over the structure of their life. Education is a good idea, but the current school systems teach many things not expressly on the curriculum that anyone who believes in real democracy should object.
This is because American schooling is based on the Prussian model, and has changed very little since it was first imposed on America's youth. Check out this link.
Everyone should be allowed to learn at their own pace.
The critical question is, "learn WHAT?"
