Quote Originally Posted by Gelatinous Cube View Post
I'd say I'm doing just fine in college despite the public school system, not because of it. Either way it sucks.

You only have two options though: 1.) Reform based on the latest science regarding how people--especially young children--learn things. This reform would need to be expensive and thorough, and free from reactionary interference. So it probably won't ever happen on a national level. Which is good, because even on a state-level there are really no particularly great public school systems. We not only need new techniques, we need new bureaucratic institutions that are more efficient than the ones we have now in pretty much every way. Daunting task on a state level, impossible task on a national level.
That's very absolute of you, GC...

Fortunately, history has also shown that it's very wrong. You see, it's not that long ago you had such a national reform of every nook and cranny of your educational system. This was after the Russians launched Sputnik, and the US threw a hizzy fit over their inadequacy. This resulted in sensible educational policie, ie. gathering all the professors in one place and letting them fix everything.

So, all you need to do is wait for China to have some major breakthrough, and you'll have a proper educational system again.