"Curriculum is the confinement of the human experience."

Well said that man! Along the way in my career, I made a brief foray into the world of formal education when I worked for two years as an IT tutor at a further education college.

What drove me back into the arms of corporate learning was the bully you mention. As an experienced teacher/trainer, I felt competent to do a needs analysis for my students and then set about meeting their needs. I resented being told what to teach them. I also resented the tacit (no - strike that - the explicit) pressure to teach to the test.

Since I believe so strongly in empowerment, in enablement, in giving people a leg up to a place they couldn't reach without help... well, I couldn't reconcile that with a stringent curriculum, so I left.