Why U.S. schools churn out dumb Americans

It's not often that the comic pages in the daily paper – what's left of it, and, yes, I do still subscribe – are really funny. But hope springs eternal! I'm always hoping for a smile or two from my favorites.

This morning, I saw one that was humorous but also had a serious message. It was a perfect reflection of the sad state of our schools, the students and what happens when they get out.

The strip is "WOMO" by Mikael Wulff and Anders Morgenthaler. It had one panel – a sidewalk scene of a man dropping a donation into a beggar's cup. The beggar, an old woman, was sitting on the sidewalk with a ruined bike leaning on the wall behind her.

It was what she said that told the tale:

"I got a bachelors in art history, an M.A in modern culture and a Ph.D. in Cubism. One day on the way to my house, my bike got a flat tire. I have no idea how to fix it … It's been two years now …"

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It's funny on the surface, but in reality it expresses how we've allowed our schools, from elementary to college, to turn out thousands of people who are totally unequipped to deal with the realities of life. They only possess the merest of academic skills and virtually no practical skills.

When I was in elementary and high school, we had academic classes to prepare us for college or for a business career. We also had classes in manual arts for those choosing that future after graduation.

But we also had classes on daily practical skills like first aid and balancing a checking account. Girls had home economics – cooking, sewing and child care. Boys had shop, auto mechanics and woodworking.

All this gave us a basis to be on our own and deal with the realities of living, along with what we learned from our own families.

But that's changed, as the beggar in the comic illustrates. She may be "trained in book learning," but she hasn't a modicum of a practical skill on how to get the bike fixed – do it herself or get someone to do it for her.

The average young person today doesn't know how to hang a picture, fix a flat, use a washing machine or sauté onions.

Why do you think there's such a demand for handymen to do chores and such popularity for take-out food? It's cheaper and better to do it yourself, but most don't know how to do it.

It's the result of a total shift of academic focus over the decades. Schools have eliminated teaching our children how to think, how to reason about the issues facing them as they move through life. Their minds have been softened by the elimination of rigid learning techniques.

Memorization has been eliminated with the result that they don't instinctually know anything. When I went to school, we memorized the multiplication tables and, to this day, I remember them.

The kids today can't add without a machine to give them the answers. If you've ever had the experience with a young cashier who can't give change, without the computer telling them how much, you know they simply don't know how to calculate in their head.

They're not taught history or dates or reasons for historical changes. It you ever fear for our political future, you can blame much of it on the ignorance of younger voters.

But we've also eliminated the idea of responsibility for their actions. It's no wonder so many are out of control.

A perfect example is the Oakland California Library, which is in the process of eliminating fines and fees for students. Supposedly these fees negatively impact library users, especially low-income users.

How insulting. What a low income has to do with overdue library books is beyond me, but it reflects a lowering of standards and expectations.

A letter to the editor in the East Bay Times from Muriel Kahsen, a former, long-time teacher, summed up what's missing in the "new approach":

"I taught my students to use the library because of the wonderful resources there. I told them it was free but only if they followed the rules. They could borrow books, etc., enjoy them, take good care of them and return them when they were due."

As she added, if you return the items on time, "There won't be any fines or fees." But that's too logical.

The attitude to eliminate fines eliminates responsibility. I'm reminded of the Los Angeles School System, which gave students laptops and i-Pads for class use, but then the computers just "disappeared." Schools across the country have the same problem.

What happened to right and wrong? What happened to morality?

It's all been eliminated from schools, and we see the results: undisciplined students expecting unearned rights and a system that accommodates them.

Our entire society suffers as a result.

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