> most of us can attest how little we recall from those classes we didn't care about (and later in life discovered how amazing and highly logical topics they ac

> most of us can attest how little we recall from those classes we didn't care about (and later in life discovered how amazing and highly logical topics they actually were). Exactly. There's a term for this: Opportunity cost. I would suggest we need to devote all of high school to creating a solid path into both college and non-college professional/trade jobs. As an example, five years of high school history is simply ridiculous. It is utterly worthless for anyone other than those who might go on to college to get a history degree. And, BTW, I love history. I am simply looking at the opportunity cost. Sir Ken Robinson's old TED presentation is relevant here [0]. A better system would be one where the path optimizes based on a range of criteria rather than treating every single kid as the same block of clay. This is much harder than the cookie-cutter approach we take over 12+ years. "All kids have tremendous talents and we squander them". "If you were to visit education as an alien and asked what it's for? <snip> You would have to conclude <snip> The whole purpose of public education throughout the world is to produce university professors" > The key is social interaction. Absolutely agreed. My comment does not address this at all. There is a legitimate claim that 2020 had social effects we don't yet understand. I can't speak to this other than to say that I watched my kids manage this quite successfully. I have not seen any ill effects. > But I am damn sure for the kids this was the net loss that will reverb for rest of their lives in negative manner. I think you are wrong. The proof is simple: Look at what kids went through during the world wars. I assure you this was worse than 2020. In my own family history, kids survived genocide. They went on to become perfectly capable, balanced and successful adults. It did not wreck their lives. I think this narrative is false and defeatist. [0] https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_do_schools_kill_creativity?language=en https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_do_schools_kill_c...