It is not a “slip of the tongue”. This is what government schooling is! Institutionalized schooling. Yes, in many ways it does resemble prison. All First Amendment Rights are strictly suppressed. Assembly is tightly controlled. The children are force fed a godless and secular worldview with non-neutral content and consequences. Religious expression, if not completely forbidden, is suppressed. Exercise and rest is dictated by government functionaries. School buses look like prison transport but are less safe. And...Even the school exercise yards look like prison recreation areas.
Yes, many private schools follow the Prussian-model of schooling. There is one very big difference. They are **freely** chosen by the parents as the best setting for their child. Teachers and principals are not agents of the police state and, therefore the child is not conditioned to be compliant to the whims of government toadies ( oops! “functionaries”). The child is not there due to threat of police and court action. And...The taxpayer is not forced by threat of police and court action to pay for them .
Re: Parental involvement
No study has ever been done to determine exactly where the child is acquiring his knowledge (Home? Institutional school?) or who is doing the teaching (teacher, parents, paid or unpaid tutors, study clubs as is common among Asians, or the child doing home assignments)
The **point** is that we may be paying up to $30,000/year/child for government institutional schooling that may be entirely INEFFECTIVE! It is entirely possible that the only thing government institutional schooling does is send home a very expensive curriculum that caring parents and diligent kids follow **in the HOME**!
( Capitals for emphasis only.)
My understanding of the law is that there is a requirement for the children to be in school, not just a public school. If this was not so, there would not be any alternative schools. I **freely** chose to enroll my children in public schools. I could just as well have **freely** chosen to enroll them in religious, charter, or other private choices, or home schooled them.
I don’t understand why you refer to public schools as a Prussian model when the level of discipline is often much higher in a private setting (ever been to a Catholic school?). As I stated earlier, you can choose either a public school or a private school, the government coercion is for schooling, not just public schools.
Your big point is that the government institutional schooling may be entirely INEFFECTIVE. It may not just as well. This statement (may be INEFFECTIVE - you can drive a Mack truck through the word “may”) is also true of any alternative, be it private or home schooling.
Again, what’s your point? Because public schooling MAY be ineffective, just trash it? Since private schooling MAY be ineffective as well, let’s just trash it, too. We are then left with home schooling. I will tell you right now that I did not have the time, inclination, or training to serve as my kid’s sole schooling. In my personal case I can tell you that our local public schools (along with our parental involvement, of course) did a very good job of educting my children. The results (3 bachelor’s degrees, and gainful employment) seem to bear that out.