Olga wrote:
Of course, this was way back in the days before computers. But from what
I've read and observed about American adults in general - how deep their
ignorance is when confronted with questions about geography and basic
science - I wouldn't be surprised if American schools are still lagging
behind many schools in countries we consider "poor," "third world" or
"backward." Of course, we have compulsory education - which may partly
account for the skew.
(end)
So, what accounts for the economic dominance of the United States? Other nations have large populations and vast natural resources. Is it that we have such a vast pool of talent that we can afford to "lose" many people who might otherwise have been much more educated and productive workers? And how much longer can we do this before we start to really slip?
Our standard of living and quality of universities tends to attract many very gifted and ambitious foreign students. Does this slow the decline? But, do many of them actually settle in the United States? Or, are we training our future competitors?
Is our gov't system such that despite our failings we readily surpass nations like Brazil? I realize third world gov'ts are usually so riddled with corruption and incompetance that they could whittle away even the benefits of a good public education system.
best wishes,
John
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Oct 12 2001 - 14:40:13 MDT