Yes, really

Crops are not usually harvested in August, thank you. Nor was that the reason for the riots. Read the book before you try to make guesses as to the real motivation behind compulsory schooling; the Truth is something that you have not even touched. If you are like most people, the Truth behind compulsory schooling is something that you never considered.

A shorter and more interesting but less definitive read by the same author is "Dumbing Us Down".
"The Underground History of American Education" will tell you more than you probably want to know on the subject but the documentation was necessary to make the work definitive, and it remains the Gold Standard on the subject of our school systems.

Gatto was New York City Teacher of the Year three times, and New York State Teacher of the Year twice, so he is no stranger to the American "educational" system.

In Missouri, children must undergo a pre-school examination to see if they have been sexually abused, and this includes a doctor examining the hymen of girls to see if it has been ruptured and the anuses of both sexes for signs of penetration.
Turtle made an interesting post on this subject which you can find in the archives.
The search might be easier if you look under my reply to him:"You wimped out when she needed you".
Turtle's post is a real eye-opener.