We call them school "systems" for a reason.  And it takes no genius to conclude that our nation's schools are failing us miserably at several levels.  Teachers enter their vocation to teach; however, the demands of the system leave precious little time for developing students' intellects.  Instead, the system calls upon educators to be social workers; psychologists; life coaches; and, more recently, armed combatants.

Perhaps it is high time to rethink the school system in light of cascading failures.  First, there is a strong correlation between the size and complexity of any system and its propensity for failure (even in redundant systems).  Second, reasonable folk rightly ask a simple question: why bother?

Beyond the blathering of political pontiffs, there are a few simple remedies worthy of serious consideration.  For example, if school systems cannot protect our children, then perhaps parents might rise to the challenge of withdrawing their students from such a system and oversee education at home.  That's right: homeschooling.  Perhaps homeschooling isn't an option for everyone, but it is clearly a rational alternative that is both secure and sensible.

Consider this as well: there are distinct domestic populations where violence in schools is virtually nil and where young male testosterone flows at the same levels as in the general population.  Amish schools in my area of the country come to mind.  Think of such close-knit communities as the control group and America's far-flung public school system as the experimental group.  Amish boys grow up around hunting rifles and shotguns, yet violence in their community schools is so very rare as to be considered nonexistent.  Of course, Amish youths have two parents in the home, prayer at every meal, chores before and after school, and a real sense of worth and engagement with their community.  Without glamorizing Amish life (it is demanding), where are the isolation, radicalization, and rampages in their young adult males that lead to massacre?

The values of the small, tightly knit Amish community cash out in their locally managed schools, which do well with an absolute minimum of government interference.  Parents and teachers are in charge, and the system is small and effective.

Home school?  Small parochial school?  Both are rational alternatives to placing our most precious citizens into the machine of public school "systems."  The best way to survive a failing system is to opt out of the system.  The political class would find this alternative unthinkable simply because the system needs to be continually fed with new raw material.  Perhaps the time has come to rethink failing systems and bypass them entirely.