What's Wrong with Opting Out?

Sometimes it astonishes me how casually people throw attitudes around seemingly without sparing a thought for other perspectives or "ways of being." No doubt I do it too, although I try to catch myself at it. Aggressive attitudes may not result in physical violence, but generally when violence occurs the underlying cause is a conflict between aggressive attitudes. I suspect much of the strife in society springs from unexamined assumptions, and people being willing to spring into action reflexively on the basis of those assumptions. Such is politics.

Many people who seemingly ought to know better tend to look down their noses at "high school dropouts," yet on the other hand sound equally contemptuous of "public school" graduates. Most kids don't have much choice in the matter of school, and the younger children are the less choice they tend to have. Perhaps many private schools are better than public schools - many people seem increasingly aware of the problems created by a shortage of available educational options, thus the push for vouchers, charter schools, etc.

I appreciated Sunni's So Who's the Real Smarty? post back in November, as well as Lobo's delightful comment, "I think of such people as having 'risen above' school, instead of 'dropping out.'"

So what's wrong with opting out? Life is educational, and in many ways school stands out in my memory as being less educational than any job I've had or hobby I've enjoyed. I'm sorry I wasn't able to opt out many years earlier to pursue independent interests; not because I don't wish to learn from other people but because the ability to choose one's teachers might make education more pleasant and the experience more rewarding. School environments seem to stifle interest in learning and thinking by design, to the point where a large number of children apparently now require mind numbing medications to sit still through the school day. So I'd still like to know, what's wrong with that picture - and what's wrong with opting out of it?