The children of America graduate without being able to identify New York on a map or name the current Vice President. How bad does this have to get before something is done?

     Great Britain -Educational "reform" has eliminated the failing grade. Now, instead of getting an "F" (failing), students get an "N" (nearly passing). Those crazy Brits, no wonder they seem so dumb sometimes. Not in the good 'ole USA though. This is the greatest nation in the world! We teach our kids!

Really?     Scattered all across the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex in Texas (and likely around the nation), similar acts of "reform" are taking place. For instance, if your child is "lucky" enough to be in one of the many school districts that use this new and improved American version of education, he or she is utterly unable to get less than a 50 on any exam. Scored a 25? Get a 50. Only got one right? Get a 50. Can't spell your name?

You get the idea.     This is one of the most glaring examples of a fact that sensible Americans have been exclaiming for years: Government programs do not work. They never do what they are designed to do, they never stay within budget, and they always create a huge beaurocracy that is nearly impossible to overturn. While our less than brilliant get a chance to "feel better about themselves" with these fictitious grades, the more intelligent children become frustrated and bored with a system that has no care whether or not they achieve their considerably higher potentials.     That is not to say that those of normal or below average intelligence should not be persuaded to reach their highest potential. After all, we can't all be rocket scientists. The point is that a federal beaurocratic one size fits all school system does nothing but create problems for everyone. Can your child be fit into a slot? Itemized on a report? Probably not. But that is exactly what you are allowing to happen by continuing to condone this system of government taking your dollar and giving back maybe 30 cents worth of "education".     Like most government beaurocracies, there is a multitude of private sector options available to replace this glaringly ineffective system. We are literally teaching our children to be stupid. School has become nothing more than another beaurocratic monstrosity that not only fails to do what it was designed for, but actually creates an environment that is conducive to the exact opposite of its desired purpose. The government tells our children what to know, but not how to think, which is the real purpose of education in the first place.

How bad does it have to get?     Will we be the next to give our children "N's"? If you have a child in school, ask him or her who the Vice President is. This is the future of our country. When we are all in retirement, these are the people that will be in charge of the world's most powerful nation. Think about it.