The problem is they can be as incompetent as they want and they just get more money for it. They aren't being held accountable.

There's a nice little documentry on it

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Bx4pN-aiofw

What in your mind is wrong with the way Belgium does it?

Sorry, I don't have time for watching a 45 minute Youtube video. If you want to explain what in Belgium you are referring to, I'm happy to offer my response to it.

In Belgium they also use tax payers money and most schools are public schools. They are ran the same way as in most EU countries, where you can choose on which public or private school you want your children to go.

But private schools are not allowed to teach what they want, they have to obey to the same rules as public schools, and final for example are in most cases the same on both public and private schools.

You don't have to stick with a school, you can even change school mid year but that's very uncommon unless you moved to another city I guess.


Home schooling is not allowed as far as I know and you must attend school until you turn 18.

A thing in Germany, I don't know if this is the case in Belgium is that teachers aren't allowed to strike, to demonstrate, to endorse a political party/movement, nor to make religious statements. In some states it's illegal to wear a crucifix, headscarf, or any symbols having something to do with religion.

I just talked to a US 16 year old in irc, and he told me they don't have physics classes yet. wtf?

As far as I can remember I got my first physics classes when I was 12 or something.

I had introductory classes in physics in 6th and 7th grade (ages 11/12, respectively). They weren't called physics, though- they were just "science".

I didn't have any class called "physics" until I was 14.
Do you happen to know the rationale behind that? I'm just curious.

They attach the money to the child, not a government school bureacracy. Schools have to compete to get "business" which means they have to offer the most for the money.

Well, maybe because they don't want minors to drop out of school, I don't know.

We have a so called dual education system here, so even if minors don't want to go to college and become, let's say a carpenter, they still have to go to school in addition to apprenticeship in a company.

Home schooled children aren't dropouts. I think I already posted about the way home schooled kids dramatically outperform government educated kids in this country.

In answer to Iadefor's question, maybe it has to do with the fear socialist systems have of individuality and self sufficiency.