Do you ever feel like your students would be better off without school?

A lot of the time I find myself wondering what my students' lives would be like without school. I could probably count on one hand how many times a student has told me they genuinely enjoy school. I teach high school English, and I can understand why they might not like my class specifically (no teen wants to be force-fed Shakespeare), but it's the whole educational system in general. This same student is probably up at 6:00 AM every day, rushed to eat breakfast, take the bus, then go from one lecture after another throughout the day only to go home and do more hours of work on assignments and studying. They have no free time to explore their passions or interests, they never get to choose what they do with their time, and they are constantly busy with no break in sight. I can't imagine that kind of life, and I get the feeling a lot of other students don't like it that much either.<br><br>I feel that with the internet and other resources, a self-directed education is entirely possible. Some people might argue that students would never put in the effort to teach themselves anything, but I've personally learned so much about topics I'm interested in because of my own curiosity and interest. I know there's a lot of issues with modern day schooling, but is anyone else genuinely concerned that not only are we failing to provide students with practical skills or preparation for life outside of school, but we're also kind of robbing them of their childhood?<br><br>I'm not sure what the solution is, but I genuinely feel like my students might be better off if they didn't have to come to school.