I specifically remember a philosophy class where we learned that there are two types of knowledge. The most important one, "true knowledge" is a purpose itself; it is eternal and soul dignifying. The problem with today's world, however, is that it replaced this "genuine knowledge" with a more "technical" one, which is merely a means of controlling the immediate. Its attributes are over-specialization and relativity as a result of taking every opinion into account.
However, applying this theory to our school system, one might say that we are actually spared from this wrong tendency. I mean, we hardly develop skills for anything in school, let alone over-specializing, not to mention that we are rarely allowed to express our opinions. In general, there is only one opinion that is correct and that is the textbook's or the teacher's. Still, if we look at the issue from any other point of view than the philosophical one, I think the whole infrastructure of the school system is more of a disadvantage for the students that an advantage.
First of all, we have to study too much in school: thirteen or fourteen subjects compared to the five or six subjects American or Western European students have to take will much rather become a burden than a inexhaustible source of interest. Even though in the ninth grade we have to chose which subjects we want to study more than others, that is a specialization only in theory, because in practice we still have to study a little bit of everything, on the reason that "it can't hurt us". Well, as a fresh high school graduate I think it can hurt us, because these extra subjects we have to take are eating up the little time we have left to prepare for the things we actually have a gift for. Therefore, as far as I am concerned, school doesn't help us achieve our full potential.
Second of all, sometimes in school creativity and innovation seem banned from the "list of qualities".
