> At no other point in your life are you in forced proximity with random people within your age cohort Maybe this is a shortcoming of our modern world outside

> At no other point in your life are you in forced proximity with random people within your age cohort Maybe this is a shortcoming of our modern world outside of school, rather than a shortcoming of schools. I rather think it's a point in public school's favor that students attend the same classes, do the same work, and are judged according to the same standards as their peers regardless if their parents are well-off, middle-class, or poor. (That's the ideal, anyways. There are always exceptions.) Having exposure to a wide swath of humanity at a young age is, I think, quite valuable. It's easier to hate people you've never met.