As I indicated, in terms of critical thinking, there's nowhere to go but up from American public schooling, but you skipped over my characterization of all western schooling, including France's, as hierarchical, authoritarian, and punitive. The movie linked above, "Schooling the World," is well worth its short viewing time, as is the director's essay, "A Thousand Rivers," for those who have a hard time imagining alternatives to coercive education, which seems to include nearly 100% of social activist types. Let me get you started: "rigorous" and "humane" are two completely different qualities in education. Both are important, and not mutually exclusive, but different.
Every school in France students have to do Philosophy. This means 'critical thinking.'
As I indicated, in terms of critical thinking, there's nowhere to go but up from American public schooling, but you skipped over my characterization of all western schooling, including France's, as hierarchical, authoritarian, and punitive. The movie linked above, "Schooling the World," is well worth its short viewing time, as is the director's essay, "A Thousand Rivers," for those who have a hard time imagining alternatives to coercive education, which seems to include nearly 100% of social activist types. Let me get you started: "rigorous" and "humane" are two completely different qualities in education. Both are important, and not mutually exclusive, but different.