Tornado Alley (PROG)

[janice shell]

The United States isn't investing as much in human capital as other developed countries and its comparative advantage is falling behind as a result. U.S. students' math skills have remained stagnant for decades. The country is falling behind many others which have greatly improved, such as Japan, Poland, and Ireland. U.S. test scores are below the global average.

As I've said a million times: We are a profoundly anti-intellectual country. One where cliches like "Those who can't do, teach" are greeted with approval. One where large numbers of parents would rather their kids be good athletes than good scholars. One in which there are a lot of homes without any books.

In countries like Germany and Japan, learning and teaching are respected, and teaching jobs below the university level are well-paid. In this country, not so much.

And here we are.