37 percent of people completely lost, Mark Morford

[SoCalDem]

62. Teach to the test..avoid "controversial" subjects..downplay critical thinking

Do this for years and years in school, and is anyone surprised?

MOST people have learned EVERYTHING they will ever "learn" (formal education, that is) by the time they are 18..

From that point on, (for MOST people) what they "learn" will be on their own, or at the behest (demand?) of an employer.

The old formula of using elementary school as the base, upon which the rest of learning will be built, has turned into teaching to the test more than creating a yearning for learning.

By the time kids are in middle school/high school, many are lost forever. Poorer kids pretty much know by then that they will not be able to go to college, so many just bide their time until they are old enough to quit or graduate.

The lucky/smart/clever/determined ones will find a way to continue their education, but most will not. Those who do not, will probably only "learn" things from that point on, that are never really tested/challenged/critiqued. They will pick up odd bits here and there...from movies, friends, family, FoxNews, CNN, MSNBC, ESPN, etc.

Even the ones who do make it to college are no longer free to wander through those years, trying out classes until something "clicks" for them. The racking up of huge debt pretty much means that they will pay dearly later, for not being absolutely sure about "what they want to be when they grow up".

Many waste semesters having to do remedial classes because high school did not prepare them, and for many the college they may be at could be one of the many that have relaxed their curriculum to accommodate the ones who are not ready, so they will end up wasting time taking high school level classes, and may run out of money before they ever get to challenging classes...and then many drop out.

People have always loved stories, myths, tall-tales, but we used to know they were fiction, and were not to be taken literally.

What we now call "reality" is anything but.