compulsion vs choice

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/28/charlize-theron-bullied-i_n_1116026.html?ref=education&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000008

wondering about us...
could it be that our assumed adolescence through mid life are perhaps direct results of a publicly prescribed compulsory curriculum...in spaces not of our choosing (or at least not normally a unanimous choice of the people occupying that space at that time)