Dude…child labor in factories led to kids being horribly mutilated for life. I get the comparison, and it's definitely true that a good amount of the traditional school structure comes out of an industrial revolution mindset, but when the worst thing a teacher will ask a public school student to do is write a three-page paper, well…let's just say it's not actual literal torture. Plus, most schools are genuinely making a strong effort to incorporate more practical learning into curriculums so that kids can not only learn something useful but enjoy it as well.

Or maybe put it into this perspective – an education, however imperfect it may be, is a good thing. Forcing a kid to work for sixteen hours a day, seven days a week, and literally breaking his body to make a tacky rug is definitely not.

School isn't as bad as doing back breaking manual labor throughout your childhood but I think there's a ton of fat that needs to be trimmed in the U.S. school system to make way for more useful knowledge like learning how to cook, or learning survival skills, or emphasizing the things that will be very important to getting and maintaining a job more. Also give more second language course options.