Any ideas on why the American educational system churns out so many stupid people compared to other countries?

Lack of open competition between schools. Privatize them, get them out of the hands of the government, Denmark has a fantastic model. There is no incentive in American schools anymore. Great teachers aren't rewarded, Bad teachers can't be fired, no school choice for families. You go where you live. Private school students, even home school students are much more prepared for higher education, because, they have choices and they choose based on school performance.

If that were the case with many public schools now, I don't think many parents in the U.S. would choose them at all.

Read John Taylor Gatto "Dumbing Us Down"

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0865714487/ref=dp...

"In this tenth-anniversary edition, Gatto updates his theories on how the U.S. educational system cranks out students the way Detroit cranks out Buicks. He contends that students are more programmed to conform to economic and social norms rather than really taught to think."

Personally I feel that the Government over the years has lowered the standard. Recently they have begun to raise the bar but the time frame they given to reach this level will be after my children have graduated. I don't like to think of Americans as stupid. After all, if when the students are being taught they are only taught so much. Yes some students strive to learn more than what is taught in class. However many, expect that what they are learning will allow them to get into a good college. Sadly that isn't happening. As a country we need to SCREAM at our Government to hire qualified, dedicated teachers to reach and teach our children. Not just drop the kids on the school grounds and hope in 13 years they will be prepared for the real world.

Now I'd like to know what you think we (America) can do to improve.

The american system is all about "all can succeed, all can achieve". I find the system too fluffy and too "pat on the back" if that means anything....the only reality check students seem to get is the standardized test come college application time and even then those dont develop expertise in any subject area.

I dont know much about high school because I only entered at college level....firstly the first degree does no account for anything (again....fluffiness)

Other systems also stream line their students based on ability and/or interest.

I came from the english system....I excelled in sciences and loved them....so for my final two years in high school I did biology, chemistry, and maths (also did physics for a bit but had not life so dropped it).....and university is even more specialized in terms of what you do and how prepared you are at the end of you studies...that is how one can go to medical school or law school straight from highschool without all this "finding" ones self......

.this whole liberal arts stuff boggles my mind

how anyone can enter a tertiary institution with and undeclared major is rather interesting too.....take a gap year and sort yourself out (no offence.....but like I said....too fluffy)

I think a lot of it has to do with that "No child left behind" policy. It wasn't put in place to make sure they were properly educated, it's so that even if they aren't at their grade level, they are moved up a grade regardless.

From experience my son is not where he should be intellectually, and the school is passing him on anyway. They won't hold students back anymore because they say it's too expensive. Well how do you put a price on a child's education?

Apparently they can.

It's sad to think my children's education is a waste of time when it all comes down to it.

I try to educate them at home as well so they won't be so "dumb" going out into a world that has no tolerance for the undereducated and the uneducated.

quite simple . . . its gov't run schools, which means no competition.

With no competition for business (students) there is no reason to change and improve. Unfortunatly, attempts by the Congress to bring competition into the school systems (e.g. private school vouchers) always get shot down.

Don't be fooled by people who like to claim that they are underfunded; this is baloney. Yes, teachers are not highly paid, but this is due to supply and demand. Why pay lots of money to keep good teachers when there are plenty of average ones available. If there was competition amoung schools, schools would have to pay good teachers more and bad teachers less, driving up wages of in-demand good teachers and bringing more good teachers (who may be doing something in another field for more money) back into teaching as the salaries go up. What makes things worse is public school teachers are unionized and pay is based on seniority, not skill, so again, a lot of would-be good teachers opt to work in other fields where pay is better

When your not competing with other schools, you can throw all the money you want at schools but it won't make a bit of difference. This is why private schools generally do better despite having much less money than public schools have.

You think American public education is bad? Look at the rankings for the top universities in the world and you will see that America as 17 out of the top 20 universities in the world and several of them are state schools.

For the most part, public schools in America are very poorly funded and are little more than glorified child care. Only "advanced" students in richer areas usually get any kind of quality education. Also many households have two working parents, preventing much help from parents with homework after school.

As an American our academic point is below that, and a few human beings are stupid, yet all of us would desire to keep in mind that many times its the knowledgeable that get us into scrapes that some trouble-free sense would have solved.

Because it is better to keep a child's self esteem intact than to have competitions, recognitions or consequences for poor grades. It is better to feel good than do good. Couple that fact with the fact that children can no longer be disciplined so a brain drain has happened among educators. Rather than fight bureaucracy, they are working in other fields.

It has nothing to do with politics. It has to do with the fact that teachers are undervalued and underpaid.

If our teachers were given the respect they deserve and it wasnt looked at as an easy job with covenient holiday and summer breaks, maybe our education system and our kids could actually accomplish something positive.