From a young age, I have always been dissatisfied and a critic of the contemporary education system. It is not very concerned with teaching you useful, practical skills, so much as flooding you with a variety of theoretical knowledge, testing you vigorously and spread propaganda (this holds especially true in history classes, where a slanted nationalistic and sometimes theistic bias is held).
What's more is the entire system is wired not so much to educate you, but to give you a sheet of facts and skills you need to pass some standardized test, like FCAT in Florida (horrible stuff). Standardized government testing has been proven ineffective, yet they keep flaunting their dicks when it comes to "academic success". Most classes and teachers dissuade critical and unorthodox thinking, so an average class appears like preaching dogma and then giving you a fixed assignment. Repeat ad nauseam.
This tendency has become the status quo, now that schools are aided with computer presentations (and to some extent, I guess, virtual whiteboards). Instead of teaching, most teachers just read out from a presentation and tell you to copy down. The teachers themselves are probably aware that the system is flawed, but instead choose to just bullshit through and take the apathetic path. I can't really blame them, as a stern anti-conventional educator would probably be kept under watch, however it gets aggravating.
I support alternative education wholeheartedly. Things like democratic, anarchistic free, Sudbury schools and unschooling, as well as good old-fashioned apprenticeship. It would be employing a radical paradigm shift, but slowly, step by step, it could be achieved.
This is a good site for students who seek alternatives to the current system and to vent.
As for my school? I'm currently at a charter, which is not all that is cracked up to be. Not at all. Just another public school with a fancy moniker. In my home country though, the system is just a disorganized mess, which has its advantages (more freedom, somewhat) and disadvantages (it becomes a survival zone pretty quickly, although it helps build adaptive skills, I guess).
