Bryan Caplan may be coming out with the book, but Peter Gray makes it in this video, interviewed by Nick Gillespie. By the end, he is talking about school as comparable to child labor.
Those of us who grew up many decades ago probably would not want to trade our childhood for today’s childhood. My memories are of spending all day playing “hit the bat” out in the street, or practicing handstands in the yard, or playing board games. With no adult supervision.
Gray thinks that the school system is not capable of changing. If you are worried about what schools might do to your children, then probably home schooling is the most attractive alternative.
I recommend the whole 30-minute interview.
If I were trying to home school now–and I would give the idea much more consideration than I did 25-30 years ago, when we first sent our daughters to school–then I think that the challenge would be to connect with other home schoolers who are not motivated primarily to provide a religious environment. A Google search for “secular homeschool groups” turns up some resources. I do not know if these are extensive enough to make it a workable option for parents these days. One of the links I clicked on had malware, so I am not going to try to click on any more.