Bruce:

Thanks very much for your comments. I know that there are many capable and well-intentioned teachers in our schools. My criticism is that "school" is the wrong system for learning. It is a system designed for teaching.

For instance, the reason that you have someone's attention for a relatively short period of time is because our school system has created the artificial constructs of classes, periods and subjects. All humans are innate learners and can learn without schools and teachers, as has been proven by brain-based learning science and through history.

You say that "The teachers have got to be free to teach by any means necessaryâ€, but I would say that children should be allowed to learn by whatever means necessary. You state that "You can’t rely on the learner to judge what is important." I disagree, and would say that you have to involve the entire community, including the children, in determining what is important. How can any individual or professional group decide on what is important to teach, when our children will leave school and do jobs that not yet exist, using technologies that have yet to be invented?

As Albert Einstein said, "I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn."