We have got to stop using the word "education" when what we really mean is "schools," or "the school system." They are not synonymous. If we treat them as if they are, we cloud the role of schools (and often expect too much of them) and disregard the responsibilities of the larger society in the growth and learning of our younger generations.
Nobody believes that the "education" of a person is limited to only the time spent in schools. We learn what it means to be a person in our world through our parent figures, peers, and the stories we hear, see, and live. This learning is certainly not restricted to our schools - almost the opposite is true. As students, we spend much of our time anxiously awaiting the "real world," where authentic learning will take place and we will truly begin to live our lives.
This is not to say schools are not important. Knowledge is power. Self efficacy is integral to later success, and this is largely established in schools. Certainly schools are educational institutions. The thing is, so are churches, movie theatres, parks, billboards, subways, courts, delis, and on and on. Does not learning happen in all of these places? And can we be confident, even, that it is not more learning that happens in these other institutions?
Sure, at school learning, and teaching, are intentional. That's exactly my point. By confusing the issue, by equating schools with education, we've come to forget that we are responsible for the teaching of our youth in every corner of society. Schools are responsible for academics, communities are responsible for learning. Schools are a part of the education system, they are not it's entirety.