Public schools started out as a racist organization to take people like my grandfather from their homes and stick them into brainwashing little rooms to teach them to be a good loyal 'American' and wash the dirty immigrant out of them.
So learning to speak English well and learn about their country's history and culture = "wash the dirty immigrant out of them"?
Public schools were also a response to the fact that most kids weren't going to grow up to be self-employed yeoman farmers who could more or less do as they pleased as long as the crops got planted in the spring and harvested in the fall. They were going to have to learn to stick to a structured schedule, show up on time and play well with others as they would ultimately be doing in whatever factory or office they wound up working in.
If public schools hadn't existed to "acclimate" the children of immigrants, can you imagine what would happen if everyone adhered to the timetables of the "Old Country"? Everyone would be 2 hours late, spend 2 hours at lunch and then take a nap. Not a recipe for an economically successful country.
