I did well in public school, but overall, I found it a waste of time. The curriculum is dumbed down to the lowest common denominator. It seems we're more interested in passing kids who aren't learning than actually challenging students. I'm not shocked that we're on par with a lot of 3rd world countries when it comes to educational standards.
I don't know anybody who goes to school in the inner cities, but the impression I have is that a lot of those kids don't care. It came out recently that less than 1/2 of all kids in inner city schools are graduating high school (and in a lot of cities, the graduation rate was around 30%). That's a damning statistic. I think a lot of it must start at home. Where are these kids' parents? Why are they not preaching how important getting an education is to succeeding in life? These same kids who dropped out of school and blew off their education are going to complain about the lack of opportunities they had in life - because they grew up poor, the system was against them, etc. rather than take responsability for their own failure.
I don't blame Oprah for building a school for those who really value the opportunity they are being given over those who take it for granted and could care less.
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