Phillip Greenspun has some interesting ideas for education. In essence, he is asking the question, "Is it totally necessary to put kids through public schools now that transportation and communication costs have gone down so much?"

It's something I was pondering while working here. Granted, many families cannot still afford the high price of education of "private schooling," but many families here in Korea are willing to shell out $2400 (which is a huge sum of money in won) for a 8 week course to prepare their kids for the SATs. Most privileged Korean families end up sending their kids overseas for studying, since learning English is quickly becoming a "required" skill for Koreans.

So would it be better for high school kids to do the same in the States? I would say absolutely. I left my high school after my junior year because I got sick of the banality of public schooling ... I figured college was much more exciting and intellectual stimulating. Imagine if you're 16-17 and you're being sent overseas to study for a year in a country you have an interest in learning. Not only are you growing into your own person (I have to say, travelling overseas by yourself is the best way to learn about yourself), but you are also learning valuable skills (a new language, new cultures), which can help you develop new perspectives on life.

On a personal note, I feel that being away from home has helped me grown closer to my parents; I found myself composing long e-mails to my family while overseas ... being so lonely.

The things you learn from overseas are invaluable; they are much more valuable than learning the stupid "filler" things that public schooling teaches.

As a note: I realize Phillip is also speaking about sending to private schools domestically. I'm addressing more of the "sending overseas" type of thing, since the price difference wouldn't be that huge...