My wife is a public school teacher and I'm a professional programmer. We've chosen to send our kids to a Waldorf school. Computers are introduced in high school. The K-8 grades have absolutely no contact with computers.
Instead, every elementary student takes in-depth "block" lessons covering language/math/history/science/etc., two foreign languages, music, art, wood-working and hand-working.
The emphasis is on natural development and expression. For example, my first grader was introduced to painting with one color of paint. (Very good paper, brushes and paint -- but only one color.) Children experience how paint and water mix, how paint flows on paper, how dry paper absorbs paint quickly, etc. It is a game of self-discovery. When a second color is introduced, the game expands to include how colors mix, etc. This takes time, but the results are stunning.
The problem I see with traditional U.S. public schools, is that students know how to type, but they don't have anything to say.
