Reading this makes me think of that one experiment[0] where rats were put in a "park" with regular and drug laced water. In the absence of enriching activities

Reading this makes me think of that one experiment[0] where rats were put in a "park" with regular and drug laced water. In the absence of enriching activities the rats would opt for drug use to stay entertained. Of course, I'm sure there are plenty of issues with that study that would invalidate it, but I think the lesson still stands, school has become an environment where you're judged on every facet of you existence. Your grades, your clothes, and physical appearance, your social acumen. All this leaves very little space for enrichment via learning and experimentation. Not to mention shrinking budgets and overloading for teachers, making it nearly impossible to be passionate and engaging. It makes me wonder what it would take to get alternative schools in place that take students into the real world, regularly, and have them learn through applying principles from the classroom, or if that would even be effective. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park