I completely agree. Some of the best school systems in the world only keep kids in the building five or six hours a day, and the kids run and operate their own lunchrooms when it's time to eat. For the precious time they're in the building, kids learn exactly what they need, and they're not wasting time on busywork and propaganda and "social-emotional skills." American schools have become like prisons. You go in, and you're stuck until that bell rings at whatever arbitrary time the government has decided you need to be there to achieve learning, and all you learn anyway is to be a cog in the machine. It's misery for everyone, and kids are dumber than ever.