School isn’t just learning the stuff in the classes. It’s the shared experience too. It’s the teachers holding you accountable for learning.
“Going to school” is a very different thing than just trying to learn on your own. Self motivation and time are a huge barrier for a lot of people. I think the OP was imagining being able to go to school every day and just take classes for free with other people also interested.
John Stewart communicates a sincerity that the rest of the correspondents and hosts haven’t really managed. They mix in a bit too much smugness or something. I find them all fine in small doses, but only John Oliver has really matched those moments where John Stewart looks at the camera and seems to be pleading with ALL of the American people. He had a way of criticizing without being elitist.