Kevin: you seem to see things in terms of absolutes when it comes to state education. While I agree that there are problems, particularly in terms of relevance, I don't for a minute agree that they need to be anything like the boot camp you describe. It is possible to find ground between total lack of adult supervision and the sausage factory.

While the theory of your pick-up games has traction, even the sportiest of kids seem to prefer to wedge themselves in front of some sort of screen, playing virtual games and consuming junk food and fizzy drinks for hours on end. While there is some value in the games (don't get me wrong), this does not engender good health. There needs to be balance. We cannot abdicate our role as adults in the lives of these children. To simply allow them to take the line of least resistance without encouraging and guiding them to fulfill their potential is not going to be doing them any favours in the long run. As adults, we attend performance appraisals, a two-way discussion where we, together with a line manager, can identify areas of excellence and areas of potential development, thus being encouraged to engage in lifelong learning. At my sons' school, we have similar meetings on a three-way basis: child, tutor and parent, where goals can be set and past performance evaluated. The child's own voice has as much validity as either of the adults and the trio is seen as a team working towards a common goal. I set store by these meetings and hold my sons accountable for their stated goals. That's part of my "job" as long as they are minors and my responsibility.

It would be wonderful if everyone always strove to be the very best that they can, but the harsh reality is that this is not the nature of the human population of this world.