Are public schools really like this now?

[Homeless Nutter]

I have mixed feelings about the concept. I understand the idea and I think to some degree it can be good.  Or at least cut down on unnecessary school drama. But I also think parents need to teach their kids not to worry so much about what other kids have/don't have.

How is that supposed to happen, when we live in a society obsessed with what people have/don't have? Parents only have influence over their kids to a certain extent. When the kids start turning into adults, they tend to rebel against their parents and want to learn from their surroundings, their peers and media, about what's important in life. Sure - hopefully, at the end of that "journey" into maturity most of them settle on some kind of more-less reasonable system of priorities, that's not entirely based around materialistic envy, flashy colors and high sugar-content. However, that does happen over many years, most of which are (ideally) spent attending some kind of school.

And schools are a place where children are away from parents - often for the first time - and where they tend to exercise their independence. If you leave them unrestricted - they'll try all sorts of world-views and behaviors, many of them harmful to themselves, or to fellow students, before they grow up enough to realize they're being moronic little a**e-holes.