"Yes, we need to fix American education. In particular, the inequalities Americans face at the starting line — bright children from poor families are less likely to finish college than much less able children of the affluent — aren’t just an outrage; they represent a huge waste of the nation’s human potential.
But there are things education can’t do. In particular, the notion that putting more kids through college can restore the middle-class society we used to have is wishful thinking. It’s no longer true that having a college degree guarantees that you’ll get a good job, and it’s becoming less true with each passing decade."
Simply put - our culture is focused on media, sports, alcohol and academic fluff (law and finance). We must rebuild our foundation to focus on math, science, disciplined academics, and high end manufacturing (we were there 30 years ago). That will take decades IF we start in ernest NOW. I feel for the parents and kids that were duped by our system - a BA is basically worthless and leads a kid to "Mommy's back room". College is NOT a place to develop social skills and contacts (gimme a break) - it is a place for focused academics- well it was in the past. Starting salary for a BS in computer science brings $120,000.00 a year (yes Virginia an average from podunk U - at elite schools it is twice that.....with a real future). Problem is the prep in math MUST start in middle school.
