Trouble is our public schools have been dumbed down, and no one is willing to put the pressure on kids (they rarely put pressure on themselves) to actually compete in math and hard sciences. That is why our PhD programs are all full of Asians and people from India. Our kids, thanks to our wonderfully expensive public schools, can't or won't compete.
"Trouble is our public schools have been dumbed down, and no one is willing to put the pressure on kids (they rarely put pressure on themselves) to actually compete in math and hard sciences. That is why our PhD programs are all full of Asians and people from India. Our kids, thanks to our wonderfully expensive public schools, can't or won't compete."
You are right. I see it with our own kids, where we do extra as parents to keep them ahead of the curve. my 8-year old knows much of the periodic table, something I didnt grasp until I was much older. something he wont see in school until ... when?!? ... A lot of the public school education is mush.
that being said, we still produce a lot of good engineering grads in the US. The other factor, that jobs *are* available and our culture lacks patience, leads many to take jobs instead of post-grad education.
He must be referring to the jobs of the future requiring Masters or PhD's in the math, engineering and hard sciences (too much of that darn hard, work, studying and effort required there for American kids).