1)  Is the educational system doing poorly ?  Are students in the  
U.S. getting what they need ?
        I say .... yes

2)  Who is to blame ?
        a)  Parents    a lot of parents are incompetent and ought to  
lose control of their children.  I have thought a lot about this and  
have not come up with a viable solution.   I think that infants and  
young children ought to be raised by committee.  A committee of  
diverse people.  I don't know how to accomplish this.  I do know that  
some parents are poison to their children ; physically,  
psychologically and in terms of goal setting.  When children reach  
the age of reason ( about 7 years ) , they should have an  
increasingly large vote in their upbringing and by the age of 13 they  
should be able to leave their parents if they wish.  Parents should  
not "own" children.  Nor ( most definitely ) should the state.

      b)   Crummy friends, low achievers, neighborhood slackers.    
But hey..... maybe we need more slackers.

      c)   Mediocre schools     teach kids to learn on their own,  
expose them to all the opinions of people around the world, curtail  
jingoistic and patriotic mantras.  Let them learn as fast or slow as  
they wish.  Having grade levels is silly and antiquated. Such things  
are designed for teacher convenience and not for the students.

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