The one who associates with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm. (Proverbs 13:20 NET Free Bible)
In other words, if someone hangs out with fools, they will hardly be any different from those fools.
If your children and teenagers spend most of their time only in the company of each other, and only a handful of adults, just what sort of influence shapes their values? As for that handful of adults — I’ve worked closely with them and I find the majority of them are not at all wise. That they work in that setting usually proves that.
In ancient times, children learned at home until they reached the ability for concrete reasoning (typically eight to ten years of age). They then learned to read, often in a religious setting, for only a few hours each day at most. Whatever else they needed was taught by their parents, to include numeracy. Those most talented and interested were allowed to continue their education, but it was the same setting as those who did not: They were apprenticed to someone.
Here in America, it could hardly be worse. Our entire system is the product of communist unions. The schools of today bear only the most faint and superficial resemblance to the independent frontier schools of prior centuries. The unions decided early on their greatest advantage was limiting the work force to gain the highest wages. So they kept out blacks, Indians and anyone else they felt were lesser creatures, and kept out kids. It was entirely a union idea to keep kids in school past age 15. At the end of what we now consider 8th grade, kids of old were more literate and better able to function in the real world than those today with more than twelve years of modern education.
The point being, children were encouraged to hang out with wise adults who could show them how to deal with the real world, particularly in a work setting. Most of the time they were in the company of adults, not vast herds of other children in a setting they would never again see in their entire lives. Modern mass education is an entirely artificial atmosphere. It is hardly different from a prison, as the social dynamics are almost exactly the same.
I’ve worked in both schools and prisons, so I know they are the same.
