This is an important point to remember -- we are moving our high tech business to India -- we are using the best of their youth and making India stronger. As you point out our best kids can't fill all the jobs in medical, engineering and computer science so we go overseas.
My wife WAS A TEACHER but had to quit because of the out-of-control situation in Dallas schools. Most parents are in denial about how bad schools are and when faced with the facts of how bad it is, still believe their little darlings are not fazed by the chaos.
The special programs for disruptive children, lack of dicipline and poor standards all contribute to the problem.
My wife has had parents bring their lawyer to a parent teacher conference so that kind of shows that the parents don't want an education for their kids.
Very few administrators are committed to education anymore. Don't believe me? Go look at the mission statements most schools have today. They usually say, "To provide a safe and hospitable environment for our children." There is almost nothing about learning or education. The code word is "safe" which comes out of the self-esteem movement of the 80's.
Make kids feel good about themselves -- forget about education.