Many advocate education as the panacea for what ails us. However, it is worth noting that our populace is the best 'educated' it's ever been. It's interesting to recall that it wasn't until 1965 that 50% of the USA's adult population over 25 years old had a HIGH SCHOOL education. The current number is 88%.
Yet our society seems a heck of a lot dumber and insane than it did in 1965, at least in some ways. Could education be the PROBLEM?
Perhaps 'credentialed' is a more truthful term... our population might be the best credentialed it's ever been but it seems far from being the best educated. When we educate a generation to fulfill corporate job outlooks across all industries, but either outsource those jobs or out innovate the need for most of the workers, Education serves less and less of a role in shaping a functioning population with a clear purpose in life.
Alan Watts- for good article about his ideas on education read this.
Alan Watts made some great critiques of our approach to education in his various lectures and writings. He argues that our system fails to prepare people for life, by defining a false set of expectations, and cutting us off from the natural curiosity that can be fostered by living in the present moment. I found this quote to be particularly insightful: "When we bring children into the world," (we should be saying) "How do you do? Welcome to the human race. Now my dear, we are playing some very complicated games, and these are the rules of the game we are playing. I want you to understand them, and when you learn them when you get a little bit older you might be able to think up some better rules, but for now I want you to play by our rules." Instead they are left with the idea they must fit a certain mold in order to be a acceptable cog in the socio-economic machinations of the state.