How much social etiquette do you really learn at school, though? Holding doors open for others is certainly something I associate more with being taught by my parents and grandparents than teachers. Conversely, one could present a reasonable counter-argument that school has a deleterious effect on many children's social and emotional development. I sometimes lament the fact that my own high schooling occurred before widespread adoption of the internet; it seems to me that alienated or neurotic adolescents have a much better chance nowadays of meeting others with similar temperament or inclinations by going online than was possible for them in the mid-90s.
I suppose you are right about most social etiquette. What about group dynamic though? Teamwork, things like that? You can still work in teams in a virtual setting but it's not the same as being next to the person and bouncing ideas around. In fact, it's vastly different imo.
Can't argue with that, and upon reflection the benefits I espoused earlier about virtual communities have their obvious counterpoint in the insane levels of abuse that kids cop from one another while gaming online. That said, I think a lot of the things the physical classroom does better nowadays can't be precluded from the virtual classrooms of 2025.