America, Wake Up!

As the Steep Downward Slide of US Students accelerates, what will the consequences be? 

The facts are embarrassingly clear.  Compared to students across the world, the USA is soundly beaten by at least 29 other countries in Math, by19 countries in Reading, and by 22 countries in Science.

What an absolute disgrace!  How the mighty have fallen!  Not only that, we’re actually getting worse as the downward slide is increasing!

Who’s ahead of us in these areas?  China, Korea, Japan, Switzerland, Netherlands, Finland, Canada, Poland, Belgium, Germany, Vietnam, Austria, Ireland, Denmark, New Zealand, France , the UK, to name a few.*

The spin artists, apologists, and defenders of the education status quo in the US will undoubtedly respond and paint these appalling results in the softest water colors.

Can the problem be fixed?

Absolutely not until we openly admit that we have an education problem.  Until we reach that turning point, the games will continue, to the detriment of our country.

The question is, how low do we need to go on this competitive list before we admit we have a problem?

By not acknowledging that whatever we are doing in math, science, reading and probably in a few other subjects as well, is not working, we will continue to slide further.

Think about the consequences to a nation that accepts an ever lowering standard in mathematics and science while the world is becoming more high tech!

Part of the problem is our inability to say it like it is.  We are too politically correct to say that we have several C’s and D’s showing up on our report card.  We have become used to receiving a prize for simply showing up, and that makes us feel good in our own environment so we can continue to fool ourselves.

Unfortunately the rest of the world is not playing our little game.  They are out there to beat us and guess what, they are!

Imagine also a nation that accepts declining reading skills!  No effective reading means no effective comprehension, a lower level of interaction, and ultimately a dumber and poorer population.  If the present trend continues, the unthinkable will occur.  The US will become a follower, not a leader.

So how do we change?  By taking ownership and creating incredible pressure, bottom up, on those that have failed in the task up to now.  Neither the government, nor the unions, nor the politicians have reversed our downward slide.

Usually, we throw money at our problems, hoping to solve them this way.  That certainly has not worked.  A small country like the Slovak Republic spends half of what the US does on education yet achieves the same results.

If we could put a man on the moon, surely we can re-do our education system.

The secret in effective change is when the informal takes over the formal.

Champion all those individuals and schools that depart from the broken model and can prove that superior performance is desirable, achievable, necessary and a virtue.

We the People, need to initiate this change.  An undereducated population is a guaranteed recipe for a disaster that could last for decades.

The Leaders will emerge.  The Will has to be there. America must accept this challenge before it’s too late.

*The student results can be verified on the Program for International Student Assessment website.

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