we do have that very same problem in Australia. Young people who cannot express themselves verbally or in writing, with very limited vocabulary...the sad fact is, their teachers are no better.
There was a small experiment conducted in Queensland recently; a group of teenagers were asked to sit an exam that was given to young people of their age - in 1890.
They ALL FAILED.
Yes, that doesn't surprise me in the least. I see it just in the difference between what I was taught and what my wife, 10 years younger, was taught in publik skool. Apparently, a lot changed in those 10 years, particularly in what was being taught in terms of history and mathematics.
Folks with little or no knowledge of history and no ability to problem solve using logic and reason, much less critical thinking, are much easier to control.....