“Historically, much of the motivation for public schooling has been to stifle variety and institute social control.”

A very self evident observation.

Sit still, be quiet, and don't say anything to upset the teacher . And by all means, be politically correct at all times or you might hurt someone's delicate feelings.

Not paying attention? Asking too many questions? Disagree with the curriculum? Better get you hooked up with Big Pharma, have some Ritalin, sit there shut up and prepare to be programmed. And we let them have our kids everyday...amazing.

That's the kind of remark I would expect from a Libertarian think tank and Koch Industries - their mission is the reason we have this total economic disaster

I attended several different schools in different states, public, Catholic, private. Keeping 'order' and instituting social control were primary tasks. Only in the private prep school were academics the key focus -- getting into a good college was the intent. Stifling variety is common, but there were certainly places where individuality could be expressed. The Catholics were not very tolerant of pointed questions about the 'faith,' and the public schools were busy trying to preserve order between the bussed in blacks and the neighborhood students. I skipped 7th grade and could have skipped 8th, too, but I would have been 12 years old in a public high school. Every day we'd come in to find out what new hoops we'd be told to jump through. I could hardly wait to grow up and get out of this prison -- only to find out that I had been educated in servitude, either to rule or to be ruled. ;-)

Robert, WHAT ? ? ? Did you say libertarians have motivational influence in stifling variety and instituting social control in theocratic seminaries (government schools)? I, and obviously others on this blog, associate more closely to libertarian thought - consequently having very little to do with the here subject theocratic seminaries. Said theocratic seminaries (public schools) are bastions of liberalism / socialism and other related forms despotic enslavement. Over the years you have had lucid arguments and statements, what were you actually trying to say here?

Forcing students to learn at the same pace is a collective idea that never has provided good results.