>Devil's advocate: What about the developmental and psychological damage inflicted by some (Not all) school environments?
Since everybody gets that, that's the same as the "developmental and psychological damage inflicted" by society, or life in general.
In other words, a necessary evil. And perhaps not even evil, just something to make people stronger for the real world, which is not all roses and love.
Children might be incredibly cruel to each other, but the stakes are much lower. In adult life adults can be cruel to each other in much higher stakes (cheating on you, taking advantage of you, stealing from you, abusing you, beating you, looking down on you, and tons of other ways). And that doesn't stop in a few years, like school does. Those cruelties can go on till one dies...
Since everybody gets that, that's the same as the "developmental and psychological damage inflicted" by society, or life in general.
In other words, a necessary evil. And perhaps not even evil, just something to make people stronger for the real world, which is not all roses and love.
Children might be incredibly cruel to each other, but the stakes are much lower. In adult life adults can be cruel to each other in much higher stakes (cheating on you, taking advantage of you, stealing from you, abusing you, beating you, looking down on you, and tons of other ways). And that doesn't stop in a few years, like school does. Those cruelties can go on till one dies...