[neverdem]

The study noted that 18 percent of college-track seniors did not take a math course in their last year in high school - and that "more than a fifth (22 percent) of first-year college students require remediation in math." Just 56 percent of the students surveyed said they put a great deal of effort into schoolwork; only 43 percent said they worked harder than they had expected.

Even though 55 percent said they studied no more than three hours a week, 65 percent of those students reported getting mostly A's and B's.

"Students are getting A's and B's, but without studying much," Martha McCarthy, the Indiana University professor who headed the study, told me.

It appears we have a lot of lazy fatheads graduating high school after spending over $10,000 per student each year in many school districts. That figure came from a NY Times story, maybe five years ago. New York City was spending 11 billion dollars for 1.1 million K - 12 students per year. I remember because I called it in to Tony Snow one day when he was substituting for Rush.

[TFine80]

Maybe so, but the whole 'flat world' jive is still irritating.

[advance_copy]

Some of those "lazy fatheads graduating from high school" are now wearing a uniform and are risking their lives for us. Do not pay any attention to Thomas Freidman, the only thing he's trying to do in America is promote liberal self-loathing. Wolf in sheep's clothing, he's a hate-America firster just like the rest of the left.

Note his reference to "Skype", which is a puny Vonage wanna-be founded by Europeans who made their mark by forming a Napster wanna-be that took off only when our courts shut Napster down in 2001-2002. Napster and Vonage are both American companies.

People who know anything about American kids (twenties means "kids" to me) can tell you they are the most technically estute youngsters in the world. I'll put 'em up against anybody from China or India. Never stop believing in America.

[Rummyfan]

Friedman knows as much about economics as he does about the Middle East! He's a fatuous blowhard who thinks a couple of Pulitzers make him a genius.

[spinestein]

[Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio?]


Goo Goo Ga Joob.

[neverdem]

FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list.

I don't think I pinged you to a Friedman OpEd before, IIRC, but a lousy math and science education after paying high taxes is a peeve of mine.

[Blumtoon]

For so many years, America's economy was so dominant on the world stage, so out front in so many key areas, that we fell into the habit of thinking we were competing largely against ourselves. If we fell behind in one area or another - whether it was math and science skills, broadband capacity or wireless infrastructure - we took the view that: "Oh well, we'll fix that problem when we get to it. After all, we're just competing against ourselves."

What is he talking about? It seems like all we heard in the 80's was how smart the Japanese were and how they were going to bury us economically. I agree that U.S. schools suck but it's not exactly breaking news.

[John Lenin]

Thomash, pull your head out of your rear end and look at these economics.



Look at that second chart: circulation has fallen from nearly 80% in 1970 to nearly 50% today. What's the reason? The failure to understand alternate news sources (cable TV, Internet news sources, etc). The question I have is -- will the newspaper industry change the business model that they have used forever? Or will they decline into obscurity?

[MarMema]

On April 7, CNET News.com reported the following: "The University of Illinois tied for 17th place in the world finals of the Association for Computing Machinery International Collegiate Programming Contest. ... "That's the lowest ranking for the top-performing U.S. school in the 29-year history of the competition. Shanghai Jiao Tong University of China took top honors this year, followed by Moscow State University and the St. Petersburg Institute of Fine Mechanics and Optics. Those results continued a gradual ascendance of Asian and East European schools during the past decade or so.

[LibertarianInExile]

"And we think we don't need to get focused and play together like a team, with Democrats and Republicans actually working together."

Of course, Friedman's gotta slip that stupid 'bipartisan' horseshit in there. God forbid the GOP get anything done on their own for once.