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> (Many Europeans and Asians I’ve spoken to went to classes each day and then left school to do other things with other people, forgoing the elaborate excess of

> (Many Europeans and Asians I’ve spoken to went to classes each day and then left school to do other things with other people, forgoing the elaborate excess of extracurricular activities that is found at American schools.) Those extracurricular activities are opt-in activities to be done with other people. The more kids are surrounded by technology, the more I appreciate structured social activities. Some kids are definitely motivated to get up and out of the house and do things in the real world day after day, but now that everyone is surrounded by endless digital entertainment it's tempting to just stay home and do... nothing. I have great memories of school-centric extracurricular activities. All of my friends at the activities enjoyed them too. With few exceptions, we weren't forced to be there. We actually enjoyed it and had fun. I understand that some people had negative high school experiences, but I'm always stunned to read HN comments insisting that everyone must have had a miserable time in high school. That said, there were a few families who opted out of our high school and decided to home school. The few kids I knew who were forced into home school by their parents were not happy about it. I don't exactly see how forcing everyone out of the high school structure would somehow improve that situation.

dannyw 5y ago
To be fair I stayed at home a lot during my high school years and I wasn't doing nothing. I was teaching myself how to code, working on cryptocurrencies, and interacting with people on forums that felt a lot more authentic than social media today. One of those interactions turned into a long term relationship. It's not all bad. Definitely think it's important to have physical learning and the social interactions that come from that though, but beyond that you don't need to force people to do extracurricular stuff at school. (The standard subjects should be well balanced and have a mix of things, from maths and science to art and PE, etc, with a gradual increase in flexibility and self-choice in what to keep).
andai 5y ago
I just wished I had had a choice. In my country, homeschooling is illegal and alternative schools get shut down by the police.
- yoz-y 5y ago
  I am always surprised when I hear about home schooling. When I was a kid it was a given that a school is mandatory. Parents worked, and also what qualifications do they have to teach? At least in early education, pedagogical knowledge is really important.
  - DHPersonal 5y ago
    Early stuff is pretty easy to remember and curriculums exist for home schools. Tutoring communities have formed, too.
  - NateEag 5y ago
    In most homeschooling families, one of the parents stays home to be the primary teacher. Many of the best teachers I've ever had didn't have education degrees and were totally outside of the formal academic system. The worst teachers I've ever had were all in the academic system. I don't think the pedagogical knowledge and credentials have much to do with whether someone is a good teacher.

dannyw 5y ago

To be fair I stayed at home a lot during my high school years and I wasn't doing nothing. I was teaching myself how to code, working on cryptocurrencies, and interacting with people on forums that felt a lot more authentic than social media today. One of those interactions turned into a long term relationship. It's not all bad. Definitely think it's important to have physical learning and the social interactions that come from that though, but beyond that you don't need to force people to do extracurricular stuff at school. (The standard subjects should be well balanced and have a mix of things, from maths and science to art and PE, etc, with a gradual increase in flexibility and self-choice in what to keep).

andai 5y ago

I just wished I had had a choice. In my country, homeschooling is illegal and alternative schools get shut down by the police.

yoz-y 5y ago
I am always surprised when I hear about home schooling. When I was a kid it was a given that a school is mandatory. Parents worked, and also what qualifications do they have to teach? At least in early education, pedagogical knowledge is really important.
- DHPersonal 5y ago
  Early stuff is pretty easy to remember and curriculums exist for home schools. Tutoring communities have formed, too.
- NateEag 5y ago
  In most homeschooling families, one of the parents stays home to be the primary teacher. Many of the best teachers I've ever had didn't have education degrees and were totally outside of the formal academic system. The worst teachers I've ever had were all in the academic system. I don't think the pedagogical knowledge and credentials have much to do with whether someone is a good teacher.