I'll agree to that.

To return to the debate:

Lizzie mentions that, for her daughter, it is a particular struggle to get interviews. Prospective employers can't be blamed for this - we have to interact with other people's requirement and perceptions throughout our lives, otherwise the whole world seems out of step with us. A formal education is the key to this and it forms the grounding for the life-long process of learning.

A previous poster mentions autodidacticism (hope that's how it's spelled) and I agree that this is the essence of life-long learning. If I can cite the example of my grandfather to demonstrate this – he was the ultimate autodidact; after leaving school at the age of 12 to work as a plough-boy, he became one of the most knowledgeable people I have ever met on a wide range of subjects, soaking up knowledge right up to his death at the age of 94. The point is that he had been taught not WHAT to learn, but HOW to learn (cue well-known quote from Dr Johnson about two types of knowledge). Today, the most effective way of doing this is, I believe, through our tested, refined and constantly monitored education system. Whilst allowing everyone to pursue their individual interests throughout life, it at least means that we stand a better chance of being able to communicate with each other on an equal footing on at least a basic level.

My own experience of the school system in the 50s and 60s was not a particularly happy one, but I really do think that things have come on leaps and bounds, especially in the last few years. OK, it's not perfect, but what is in life?