Ranee Mueller wrote:

> I left out a word in that sentence:
> educated.

So it should read "Even in the dark ages, educated people were more
literate than they are now"?

> It is a first, as far as I know it, in history that education
> is creating people who cannot read.

I think that's a tautology, though. In the olden days, an educated
person was someone who was literate. So by definition, 100% of educated
people were literate by the standards of their time. But educational
opportunity wasn't offered to everyone; the people who were offered
educations were the most likely to have the ability to learn, and they
were kicked out of school if they demonstrated an inability or
unwillingness. Plus the standard for literacy was extremely low.
Someone who could sign their own name and/or read a Bible verse with
some semblance of accuracy was considered literate.

In the US today, ~99% of all people are literate, defined as "you can
read and write well enough to function in society," which IMHO is a much
higher standard.

Personally, I think any situation where children get extended one-on-one
contact with teacher is better than the public school experience most
kids get. And I think that it's great that you're willing and able to
homeschool your kids. But for kids with less interested parents, public
schools are better than the alternative of no school at all.

Phoebe