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Comment by lugu | Hacker News Reader

I was told thought public school was invented, not to instruct, not to educate but to emancipate kids. Giving them a chance to see the world from a different perspective from their family. One might call it endoctrinement, yes, but if you are confronted to two concurrent belief systems, you are more likely to see them for what they are.

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Historically schools were usually a way to do one of two things: provide a strong education (mostly in the humanities) to the upper class, and teach basic literary skills so that kids could read religious scriptures and then later, post Enlightenment, adequately participate in government and society (including basic arithmetic and non-religious literary skills). The first public schools in New England were motivated by the pre-Enlightenment attitude and public schools became more widespread with the post-Enlightenment attitude.

The idea of public schools as a way to enforce national unity (~WW1 when it became a priority in the US to de-italicize ethnic identities and loyalties) and teach kids skills that would set them up for nationally important jobs like those in science and technology (Cold War) was a much later phenomenon.

"liberal arts" dictionary definition is literally this.

It has fallen behind though because the folks in charge have lost this as a goal and there are so many out there with expensive useless degrees who have trouble navigating the world.

This sounds nice, but there's a huge correlation between belief systems of a family and those of their surrounding culture, and therefore those present at school.

If someone were instead to home-school their children, and use that as an opportunity to show their children different systems in different parts of their country or world, I think that would be far more effective.

No argument there!

https://www.mrctv.org/blog/not-single-student-proficient-mat...

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