I appreciate it @canadian-coconut, the events certainly changed me, though my memory of the event itself is more surreal than terrifying. As you may see by those newspaper clippings, I've had some time to think this over, and I'll admit I'm using my status as a 'survivor' to make my point about the outdated public schooling system that I was forced through like so many others.

Looking forward now, I imagine the necessity of the invention of community learning groups forming within neighborhoods, with groups of parents even hiring their favorite teachers to guide the students, and where teachers will likely be better rewarded for their work than the old system could offer. In these more organic home and local classrooms, the ages of the students might be less emphasized, so that they could learn from each other naturally, like a family.

I used to be told that I lived in a world of fantasy, as if that was a bad thing. I'm still imagining a future that... well just wait 'til you see it! ;)