Be naiive

I am certainly not alone in thinking that state education is probably now doing more harm that good to us as a society. When did you last hear a serious discussion regarding the role of education? Hours are spent reviewing and arguing over targets and qualifications but few ever broach the question "what is education for?".
My main objection is that schools view children as empty vessels which have to be filled. If this is the goal then perhaps schools are fit for purpose. However, children as well as adults are not mere sponges for facts- we learn when we are ready to learn. You can present concepts and ideas to a person but it will only make sense if they are ready to understand. We find this in our own lives- a book which we previously couldn't fathom, suddenly makes sense. Campaigners will also tell you that you can hit people with all manner of facts and statistics but only when they are ready, or on the same "wavelength" do they actually take them on-board.
Krishnamurti goes further in saying that knowledge gets in the way of learning- because knowledge represents past experience, and as such has been through the mill of the mind and therefore is not "reality". In other words, to truly learn we need to start with a blank sheet of paper- not one coloured by previous knowledge/experience. In everyday life, the mind is continually judging, comparing etc. To learn we need to suspend the mind's activity in order to accept the reality for what it is- unclouded by our own ideas, preconceptions etc.
One could say we need to be naiive in order to learn. Its an analagous situation to that of instinct and "gut feeling" which rise in response to a given situation. Then, invariably, the mind kicks in and clouds the issue with logic, experience etc.
It may appear a truism but, if education is to mean "learning", the primary task of the teacher must be to enable children to learn. They need to understand how learning occurs, the role of the mind, and what instinct is. Having taught 2 of our children at home over several years, it was quite a revelation to observe how little time a child needs to learn what a school takes years to achieve. This is because, once a child is ready to learn, the teacher almost becomes superfluous, as life and living become the child's teacher. Schools need to be replaced with life- the best teacher there is.