America's Global Economic Performance and Our Failing Schools

 

Many of the things we took for granted when we were in school back in the 1950's, 60's, and '70's are not considered "politically correct" these days. It seems that the emphasis is more on not "offending" anyone or promoting a culture where nearly everything is acceptable, no matter how irrational. Kids can't tell time using a analog clock or write cursive but they get to pick which gender they want to be and no one has to even tell their parents! You send "Johnny" or "Mary  to elementary school in the morning and they come home as "Johanna" or "Mark"! What the hell?  I was happy if I got to pick out my shirt for school let along my gender! Besides, everyone knew girls had cooties. 

Today kids have story time read to them by individuals dressed like they belong in some sort of John Waters' movie.  They can now choose what they want to study (or not) based on their racial or gender identity.  Disrupting class isn't at all uncommon and often excused as being a part of their "learning culture" or symptomatic of some attention disorder we never heard of when we were kids in school.

 Assaulting teachers while trying to teach class or enforce discipline isn't unusual (and woe unto the teacher who physically responds). Teachers in their 20's or 30's getting caught having sex with kids barely in puberty happens so often it's barely news worthy.  Professional ethics aside, what about simple  morality?

 I personally happen to support saying the Pledge of Allegiance (if you don't want to participate, fine. Just don't interfere with those who do). Strict discipline in the classroom, active participation of the parent or guardian, and teaching civics are essential. If they don't understand the function of government and their role in society as citizens, how can they protect their freedoms? Volunteering 90 days at the end of senior year performing some civic service such as Habitat for Humanity, helping out at the VA hospital, Meals on Wheels, participate on a police or firefighter advisory board, helping seniors or working as an election officer should be mandatory before graduating. 

 I am especially keen on learning being the focus of education. Anything beyond that (sports, band, cheerleading, or whatever) should be a privilege for maintaining good grades. Poor grades or disciplinary issues and the privileges are suspended until the grade or behavior situation is corrected. Repeated offenses and they're revoked. Period.

Some individuals and groups want to promote the introduction of their agenda a denominational prayer in public school and teaching creationism in public school either alongside evolution or to the exclusion of evolution all together. If that's want you want for your child, great. Send them to a parochial school.

 I have no problem with a minute of silence to get yourself mentally ready for the day ahead. If you want to quietly say a little prayer (or have a little prayer circle), have at it. If you want to do a quick mediation, or some late minute cramming for the test you forgot about or get your homework in order, that's fine too. Just be respectful of others. I do not support the notion of mandatory participation in someone else's religious expressions unless it's part of a comparative religions class examining all faiths.

Another key issue is the emphasis on higher education. I also don't believe college is for everyone or necessary for every or even most jobs. Sure, there are some occupations where higher education is needed because of the intellectual nature of the work. However, there are jobs where someone with a proper high school education should be able to do quite well. One reason employers ask for a college degree is just to get a qualified applicant at what would otherwise be the high school  equivalent.

 I've seen high school "graduates" barely function on a 8th grade grammar or reading level or can do math much beyond a 6th or 7th grade level. You can all but forget about basic geography and history (but boy oh boy do they known or video games!).  One resulting outcome is the lowering of colleges and universities minimum admission standards to create an artificial parity based on race or gender rather than academic performance. This is nothing more than a quota system based on discrimination.  

Far too often, teachers and school administrators "fail students forward" rather than hold them back out of fear of being accused of racism, genderism, or whatever the victim card du jure happens to be.   The most common excuse is that failing little "Brad" or "Babs" hurts their self esteem. I think saddling them with a worthless education or bleak employment opportunities is worse than bruised feelings.

Is it any wonder that the United States consistently performs in the lower half of the second tier globally? The U.S. ranked 16th out of 81 industrial countries according to a 2022 test of 15 year olds as administered by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). We placed 16th in science among the same 81 countries. When it came to mathematics, we were 34th. The top five highest scores all belonged to Asian nations with Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and Macao consistently being among the top performers. 

These are some of our current and future economic competitors for high paying jobs and market shares, which affects employment levels, quality of life, and other key metrics.  If we think of education as an investment in human capital or part of our economic national security, we're losing the battle.

Although the U.S. spends more taxpayer money per student than other countries, we are obviously not getting our money's worth. Incoming President Trump is putting together an advisory committee---the deceptively named "Department of Government Efficiency" (it's not an actual government agency)  led by Elon Musk and  Vivek Ramaswamy. Their job is to review various government projects, programs, and departments and find a way to make them work better and within budget.

 I suggest they start with our school system and find ways to improve our performance. After all, everything starts with education (there are some who, since the 1990's,  have been calling for the disbandment of the Department of Education and a return of educational authority back to the states). As an aside, the Department of Education was elevated to a cabinet level position in October 1979 by President Jimmy "Peanut" Carter (D-GA).

This was just four years after the advent of the disastrous court ordered  fiasco known as "forced busing" which effectively eliminated neighborhood schools. Students as young as six and seven years old, were put onto school buses and shipped all over town for hours at a time each way. This implementation of "social engineering" was intended to create balance in the schools academically and racially.

What it accomplished was a general lowering of academic performance which continues to this day. A better option would have equalizing the money spent on each student and rotating teachers. However, that would have produced a battle with the powerful teacher unions. So, what can we do about it?    

One potential solution is to weed out not just the academically unprepared, but also  redirect individuals who lack the interest or aptitude for higher education. One option would be to adopt a system similar to Germany's where students are tested periodically throughout years K - 8, and channeled into programs which lead to two years degrees, trade or technical schools, or on to higher education. It's one of the reason's Germany has one of the world's most advanced economies in the world.  Of course, the final decision belongs to the student (and parents) who may choose the academic path of their preference.

Students unprepared academically are re-immersed back into the subjects they poorly performed on via in person or online tutoring while extracurricular actives such as sports are put on hold. Students may be required to attend before or after school instruction. In some cases, this may take place during the summer. Until they can pass those courses, they should remain  suspended from  any non-academic events.  

The result is that the abilities and interests of the student is targeted  instead of trying to funnel them onto a path where they have little or no ability or interest. Trade or technical school is one such option. Unlike Europe, America faces a serious shortage of carpenters, welders, plumbers, electricians, glaziers, construction equipment operators, cyber security specialists, and other skills. It's a economic sector where there are real shortages and great opportunities. Making six figures annually isn't unheard of. Neither is owning your own business, where income opportunities can be even higher.

In a 2023 survey, there was a shortage of approximately 374,000 skilled workers in construction. The Association of General Contractors of America had a 70% positive response rate about concerns over the availability of skilled contractors and subcontractors in the upcoming years. 80% of those surveyed said they were worried about unfilled positions long term in the construction industry.

Between now and 2023, the renewable energy industry alone will need 1.1 million more workers worldwide and another 1.7 million to operate the equipment. According to a January 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor report, the manufacturing industry in the U.S. has a staggering 584,000 unfilled job openings.

Among the reasons for the critical shortage of skilled workers is that the current workforce is slowing but steadily aging out. Almost 70% of supervisors in just the electrical trades are Babyboomers who are quickly reaching or passing retirement age.  More individuals are retiring and leaving than are replacing them. Another explanation is the push by school counselors, college recruiters, and a negative public perception about blue collar workers in general.

The truth is that training for a career in the trades is far shorter and cheaper than getting a Bachelor degree from a college or university. Training, on average, is two years or less plus a short apprentice period which may start simultaneously while being paid with benefits (the average apprentice earns roughly 50% of a skilled worker's salary). It takes about three weeks to qualify for your CDL license needed to be a long haul truck driver (the average salary--with experience--is just over $78,000 yearly).

Typically the cost of attending a trade or technical program can range from just a few thousand dollars to roughly $30,000 with an average cost of $15,000. Many of those attending a trade program are often hired before graduating (some start work will still attending school).

Compare that with the cost to obtain a four year degree. The current average is approximately $10,490 per year for in-state students. For out out-of-state students, that cost can jump to as high as $24,000 per year. If you plan on attending one of the top schools, the cost can be a lot higher. There are a few cheaper options (like attending a unaccredited institution), but remember that you get what you pay for and that's nowhere more true than in education.

Then there's the debt. On average, 61% of those who graduate from a public university leave with diploma in one hand and a bill for $31,960 in the other hand. Over their four years, the majority of students will occur a debt of at least $30,000 by the time they leave. The average federal student loan debt is $37,853 dollars. If you pursue a Masters degree, the costs and debt will be substantially higher.

It used to be that many American workers graduated from high school with a functional degree and would get a good paying job with benefits down at one of the local manufacturing companies. They'd join a union for job security and they were pretty much set. For a large percentage of the country, it was a near guarantee to their entry into the Middle Class. It wasn't uncommon for this path to be multigenerational, but those days are long gone.

Starting in the late 1970's American began transitioning out of manufacturing and largely into the lower paying (and the less secure non-union) service industry. What industry remained has become more automated, replacing most positions. The only ones with job security and a good paycheck are the ones who repair or program the production line robot. But that's not the half of it.

Our parents and grandparents didn't have to face is the level of competition we do. Today, workers not just compete with each other for scarce well paying jobs, nor is their competition in the next town or state. Today's employee faces competition for work thousands of miles away, in countries like India and China where unions don't exist and people will work for next to nothing (and forget about benefits. They're happy just to have a job!). This is where America is losing ground, and when we look back at math and science score of our students, the future doesn't look to bright for the U.S..

When  it comes to technology, the world leader is Japan (Japan is also the world's most literate nation). Second is South Korea followed by China which has a knack of acquiring, studying, and adapting U.S. and global  technology. You don't have to look much further than the America's F-35 and China's J35A stealth fighter jets for proof.

In fourth place the good ole U.S. of A. Behind us is Germany, a country the size of Wisconsin and with a reputation for high quality engineering and efficiency thanks to their excellent dual avenue academic system which puts the trades on equal ground with higher education without the stigmatism as we mentioned earlier. Of course, we wouldn't expect anything else from the Germans.  As an aside, Russia graduates the most engineers of any country followed by the U.S. and Iran according to UNESCO.

 Singapore, a former British colony, is next (remember at the beginning of this article where I mentioned that the top five nations in academic math and science among 15 year olds were all Asian?). Coming in seventh place is Russia. Another country with a "gift" of mimicking U.S. technology. Great Britain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Switzerland round out the top ten.

The key to the future is innovation. It's where tomorrow originates. So, who leads the world when it comes to innovation? That honor goes to Switzerland which dominates its second place competitor, Sweden. The United States has dropped to third place and is just ever so barely ahead of Singapore and the UK. For now, this may get us by, but not for long. Not at the pace the world is changing. How long can we hold on? Only time will tell. But one thing is for certain. If we don't do radically improve our school system and the quality of graduates, we may be facing a bleak future as the world's largest Banana Republic.

 

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Department of Government Efficiency

U.S. Education Rankings Compared to Other Countries

Tradespeople wanted: The need for critical trade skills inU.S.

These countries have the most technological expertise