Yeah. To my mind, the problem is that learning is very individualized (not even taking into account learning disabilities!), and yet mainstream U.S. pedagogical

Yeah. To my mind, the problem is that learning is very individualized (not even taking into account learning disabilities!), and yet mainstream U.S. pedagogical theories really only target the middle of the bell curve. What's needed -- at least for a huge chunk of students -- is something more like Montessori, where a learner who's struggling can receive individualized attention from a teacher or a peer, and where the learner has free access to tactile/visual/whatever aids which may be overkill for most other learners, AND -- perhaps most importantly -- where the natural human tendency to sit and focus for hours at a time on a single task is fostered and encouraged.