6 ms·

You have to remember, the main purpose of school is to provide babysitting so all of the adults can work and keep the economy humming. If you take a hard look

You have to remember, the main purpose of school is to provide babysitting so all of the adults can work and keep the economy humming. If you take a hard look at the time spent during school, you will see tons of filler. If you were _only_ going for schooling, you wouldn't need homeroom, lunch, PE (get your activity at home), and several subjects. Not to mention, at home you can tailor the lessons to your kids, and you don't keep getting interrupted because some kids out of 30 in your classroom are being disruptive.

chasedehan 6y ago
> you don't keep getting interrupted because some kids out of 30 in your classroom are being disruptive. That depends on if you have multiple children and one starts flipping out. Overall your point is pretty valid though
toomanybeersies 6y ago
> the main purpose of school is to provide babysitting so all of the adults can work and keep the economy humming This point has been especially proven by the fact that a lot of countries right now have reopened schools, but only for children whose parents can't supervise them at home because they have jobs that require them onsite still.
- stef25 6y ago
  Then there's the rest of us, couples who both have to work 8hrs / day from home as well as look after 2 young children. It's really tough.
- watwut 6y ago
  That just proves that school also provides babysitting. Which is a good and great thing, there should be more of that. It does not proves that is the purpose of the school is babysitting. Moreover, schools are currently doing online education for kids at home. As flawed as it is and as it requires involvement of parent, it is organized by the school.
apatters 6y ago
Is this a bad thing? Birth rates in developed countries are low as is. Take away the free day care and they will likely drop further.
snowwrestler 6y ago
> You have to remember, the main purpose of school is to provide babysitting so all of the adults can work and keep the economy humming. I know this is a popular opinion but it’s ahistorical. Compulsory education was introduced in the late 1800s when about half of Americans still worked in agriculture, by far the largest sector of the economy at the time. Most families did not need childcare outside their home. Today, school ends well before the professional workday does—pretty poor childcare. The fact is that the main purpose of school is to educate kids, which is necessary to prepare them to live in a complex society. But, to teach kids you also have to care for them, hence the “fillers” like lunch and exercise. Sadly, it’s true that for some kids, school is a major source of food and care in their lives. This is a failing of society, not of schools specifically. > at home you can tailor the lessons to your kids, and you don't keep getting interrupted because some kids out of 30 in your classroom are being disruptive. Which is why it’s legal to home school your kids if you want to, even when there is not a global pandemic. :-)
- alkonaut 6y ago
  > Which is why it’s legal to home school your kids if you want to This is far from universal btw.
- concordDance 6y ago
  > The fact is that the main purpose of school is to educate kids, which is necessary to prepare them to live in a complex society. 90% of secondary school is not necessary for living in modern society. As long as you can do arithmetic, percentages and fractions and can read and write? You've got all you need really. If you want particular jobs there may be extra requirements of course.
  - adrianN 6y ago
    I couldn't disagree more. Modern democracies only work if large parts of the population are educated enough to hold informed opinions on matters of public policy, at least in the topics they care about. A lot of the problems we see today can fundamentally be attributed to the failure of reaching that goal and leaving room for demagogues, misinformation and outright lies to manipulate people into voting against their own interest and the common good.
chinesempire 6y ago
> and you don't keep getting interrupted because some kids out of 30 in your classroom are being disruptive. and you will grow up unprepared to real life facts, such as people interrupting.

chasedehan 6y ago

> you don't keep getting interrupted because some kids out of 30 in your classroom are being disruptive. That depends on if you have multiple children and one starts flipping out. Overall your point is pretty valid though

toomanybeersies 6y ago

> the main purpose of school is to provide babysitting so all of the adults can work and keep the economy humming This point has been especially proven by the fact that a lot of countries right now have reopened schools, but only for children whose parents can't supervise them at home because they have jobs that require them onsite still.

stef25 6y ago
Then there's the rest of us, couples who both have to work 8hrs / day from home as well as look after 2 young children. It's really tough.
watwut 6y ago
That just proves that school also provides babysitting. Which is a good and great thing, there should be more of that. It does not proves that is the purpose of the school is babysitting. Moreover, schools are currently doing online education for kids at home. As flawed as it is and as it requires involvement of parent, it is organized by the school.

apatters 6y ago

Is this a bad thing? Birth rates in developed countries are low as is. Take away the free day care and they will likely drop further.

snowwrestler 6y ago

> You have to remember, the main purpose of school is to provide babysitting so all of the adults can work and keep the economy humming. I know this is a popular opinion but it’s ahistorical. Compulsory education was introduced in the late 1800s when about half of Americans still worked in agriculture, by far the largest sector of the economy at the time. Most families did not need childcare outside their home. Today, school ends well before the professional workday does—pretty poor childcare. The fact is that the main purpose of school is to educate kids, which is necessary to prepare them to live in a complex society. But, to teach kids you also have to care for them, hence the “fillers” like lunch and exercise. Sadly, it’s true that for some kids, school is a major source of food and care in their lives. This is a failing of society, not of schools specifically. > at home you can tailor the lessons to your kids, and you don't keep getting interrupted because some kids out of 30 in your classroom are being disruptive. Which is why it’s legal to home school your kids if you want to, even when there is not a global pandemic. :-)

alkonaut 6y ago
> Which is why it’s legal to home school your kids if you want to This is far from universal btw.
concordDance 6y ago
> The fact is that the main purpose of school is to educate kids, which is necessary to prepare them to live in a complex society. 90% of secondary school is not necessary for living in modern society. As long as you can do arithmetic, percentages and fractions and can read and write? You've got all you need really. If you want particular jobs there may be extra requirements of course.
- adrianN 6y ago
  I couldn't disagree more. Modern democracies only work if large parts of the population are educated enough to hold informed opinions on matters of public policy, at least in the topics they care about. A lot of the problems we see today can fundamentally be attributed to the failure of reaching that goal and leaving room for demagogues, misinformation and outright lies to manipulate people into voting against their own interest and the common good.

chinesempire 6y ago

> and you don't keep getting interrupted because some kids out of 30 in your classroom are being disruptive. and you will grow up unprepared to real life facts, such as people interrupting.