This is why this country is in the trouble it's in now. Schools and government have desserted the classes and the students who can do something productive for our economy. Now we send all our skilled jobs over seas and wonder why we have a work force that can't do anything!

This is what people demanded. Schools were told in no uncertain terms what their mission is and what their priorities should be, and teaching kids technical trades was about 324th on the list. I don't see tech ed cracking the top 300 any time soon.

For those now leading, it's not about educating the next generation, like the last generations have historically done in the US - it's about the growing minority of the 40-65 year olds making themselves the selfish generation, with their need for ever lower taxes and having more to spend for their good life... That ego-centric segment of the selfish generation does not care that the generation before them paid much of the selfish generations' way, nor do they care how the country ends up - with their conveniently self-serving "the market will take care of it" BS ... ask them to now do the same for next generation as was done for them?.. All that crowd can say is that the next generation can save for their own houses, pay their own way at schools, and do it on their own, " just like we had to"... as if those coddled spoiled brats now in the 45-65 age group ever worked hard at anything but complaining about government, taxes, money, and their parents estate... They can't even tell their peers to shut up and give back to the community anything but free advice.

I think your blame bracket is a bit skewed hobie2. I think 40 to 55 would better cover your argument. Boomers do share the blame though, with the coddling parenting that created Gen X and had a snowballing effect on Gen Y and Gen Me. Let's face it, we're all to blame, the boomers for demanding high growth rates on their 401K's and IRA's as well as the Tea Partiers who want to shrink government to the size that fits in a bathtub as Norbert describes it.

Right - before Reagan, 80% of US governments' budgets went to children... post Reagan, the children got only 30%... before Reagan, the US led the world in most economic categories. Post Bush 1, we were no longer leading... The GOP has a hard time with the concept of investing for the future - they prefer the no-brain-needed "the market will take care of it" ostrich theory.... Well, that's really working well, now isn't it? The US using that hare-brained half-applied loonie theory has been losing ground daily on nearly every front to the managed economies - Communist China, India, Europe, Asian rim, South America - for 30 years... and those countries use the very methods that once made us strong to beat us - while we stick to the ostrich theory and eat our own assets... Education? Who needs education - use it to make jobs, use it to make money, privatize it to make money... but don;t actually have kids learn... Waste our youth on the ostrich theory? Not my problem - I have mine.

In America we have stories about not having enough classes for beauticians and auto-techs - while in China and India the math, science and computer classes are so full that they turn kids away. I just took a look a couple of local Community Colleges and they still have space in their Calculus and Computer Science classes for those folks looking to go to school.

Basically the state was short sighted. My high school heavily pushed college making it seem like its the only option. A 4 year degree is not right for everyone. I have a 4 year IT degree and graduated 2 years early as half my credits were earned during high school. Im in my late 20s and being tired of office politics, being cooped up in a cube for 40 hours a week and dealing with weird anti social IT personalities I am going back to school for a tech degree. As for liberal academia who will likely give me a thumbs down for my opinion, this is what blue collar jobs have became, highly technical. I got my 4 year degree at age 20, just because I choose tech school docent mean that I am any less intelligent.

Limited Funding - - while administrators move money from one area to another, they have to put the "blame" somewhere. The government is an easy target. With auto repairs, you get an estimate that identifies the cost of labor - maybe health care and education need to show that catagory. We have the technolgy, do we have the will ?

"as if those coddled spoiled brats now in the 45-65 age group ever worked hard at anything but complaining about government, taxes, money, and their parents estate" posted by hobie2---Wow....really? My father falls in your age range that you speak of and he was NOT a spoiled brat. He worked HARD all his life to make sure we never went without. When he was laid off, he didn't complain and whine like these OWS CHILDREN are doing, he actually did something and found work. I believe that YOU are the spoiled brat who joins in with these OWS folks who complain about not having things handed to them. Just because someone who is between 45-65 worked hard to obtain the comfortable life they have makes you jealous...thats YOUR problem. Maybe you should do something about it and GET A JOB!

We spend more on education today than ever. Funding is not the problem. It is time to take a look at how we educate and come up with some new ideas. My district just spent $75 million on a new high school that has a field house that is air conditioned during th summer. There is NO accountability as to where the money goes.