All whiny Blather Snipped.

It comes down to the parents - 100% and without reservation. Schools, from pre-school to graduate school are mines, knowledge is extracted from them with effort, time and concentration. They do not "impart" knowledge at any level. And, the ore exists even in the poorest schools. It really does. Been there.

If parents prepare their children in that extraction process, they will learn. If the parents do not, they will not.

Shop Classes: That is a matter of community values. Shop classes require a dedicated staff, expensive tools, space and maintenance. If the community values the product of these classes, they will happen. It's called Taxes.

We pay very nearly $10,000/year in dedicated school taxes. It will be 2042 before we pay back the system for the education extracted by our two, even at that rate. And right now, we are investing in the next generation of kids and insuring that they have the same basic opportunities as ours did. A very simple concept.

Get over yourself. This is not an external problem. It is internal to all of us - what are our values? Are they essentially selfish? I have mine! Or are they focused on providing and supporting a community that will, in turn support us and our values into the future? I am 100% responsible for my condition in life, and good or bad, that is the way it is. There is no one to blame, nothing has been taken from me that I was unwilling to give, nor has anything been given to me other than opportunity. That is the difference between a democracy - and anything else. Ours, by the way, is threatened.

And, to twist the knife a little - neither of my parents spoke English as their first language. But despite all that, they provided me with infinite opportunity, and infinite support, and were excellent examples on how to work it out.

I have written this before, but sometimes the first application of the clue-stick does not take:

Keep in mind that the Average American:

Does not have a college education, including an Associate Degree (60%).
Does not have a passport (64%).
Speaks one language €“ badly (74%).
Has never traveled voluntarily more than 200 miles from his/her birthplace (57%).
Has never visited a foreign country, not even Mexico or Canada (71%).
Cannot name the Speaker of the House, even today (82%)
Cannot name the three branches of government (64%)
Cannot read at a college level (83%)
Cannot read for content (54%). This person cannot follow written-only directions.
60% of American Households do not buy any book in a year.
Does not believe in Evolution (42% creationism, 32% evolution, 26% no opinion).
Only 71.2% of eligible voters are registered.
Only 57.9% of registered voters voted in 2012.
Meaning that the average American eligible to vote does not vote (only 41.5% net). Not much changed in early statistics for 2016, although the change was to greater participation (44%). The Average American still does not vote.

This has not one damned thing to do with party, democrat, republican, libertarian, communist, green, whatever. It has to do with massive, systemic and deliberate neglect, and industrial-grade stupidity mixed equally with mil.Spec. ignorance.

Quit your bitching - and work it out. It really is you, so only you can change it.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA