answer:I don’t know. It’s clear that US schools have problems – especially when it comes to school districts that are under-funded. But I wonder if we aren’t over-emphasizing the fact that US schools are lacking in many areas and teach to the test, etc. My coworker is from India, and we were discussing cultural differences and attitudes towards education. He said that in his experience, cultural (and family) attitudes about education in India are completely different then they are here. Education is valued above nearly everything. There are expectations about what a child should study (physician or engineer), and parents shape family life around these values. In much of the US, this is just not the case. We were not saying if that was a good thing or not – he was just commenting that there is a difference. I was an awful student. Horrible. I can point to bad teachers, an uninspired school system, uneducated parents who didn’t value education, divorce and money-related problems at home during my early childhood, etc. But I don’t really know why I did so poorly. I guess I am asking if it’s possible that we have two problems: 1. An educational system that needs large reforms. 2. A culture that doesn’t really value education.