Education-less

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/12/07/international.student.assessment/index.html

This is actually good, however it seems this is back on the downfall with the new Congress, why would you want a country who knew less...understood less about the world and was so single issue focused.  I received an email earlier today titled "Why teachers drink" which honestly I did not even want to open, however I did and the first one struck me as ironic.  Many would argue that this was a silly answer to the question and the child should have known better, but many of those same people support creationist teachings.   The question was "Explain why phosphorus trichloride (PCI3) is polar."  The answer given was "God made it that way."  Really?  Prove it.  Since the question appears to be from a science related course and the answer is liked a set fact based on proven tests, the answer needs to be something that is concrete.  The answer of course is PCl3 has a trigonal pyramidal molecular geometry, and is, therefore, polar because the dipoles do not cancel.  While the email was meant to be funny, I found that part of it completely saddening.  I am not totally consumed with the idea of science and math being the end all, where I come from music and the arts have been something that one had to work a little harder to gain knowledge or skill in and was not always greatly provided in the school setting.  I often wish that expression and an interest in music and the arts was something that I would have had more encouragement in, but to fall so far behind in comparison to other countries in science and math when we are supposed to be a superpower is just horrid.

The downfall of education appears to be coming mainly from creationism, funding cuts, scandals...what else?

Another link, related but gets a little deeper into the reasoning of those who profess against science.

http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/values-vs-science-america’s-right-wing’s-ridiculous-anti-marriage-equality-arguments/politics/2010/06/29/11523