US, UK failing education, but here's the #1 way to improve it

Education

In 2010 the US ranked 14^th in the world education rankings of 15-year-olds, and the UK ranked 26^th. At the time folks worried about the drop in education in these developed countries. But have they improved and if not, what can be done to change these figures?

2012 rankings shows the US falling further behind at 36^th in ranking, with the UK at 26 again, except in science where teens scored above average.

While countries develop new techniques, teaching strategies and ideas for solving the problems in education, there is one area needing attention that could make a difference.

When was the last time you as a parent, grandparent or representative adult figure in a young person's life somewhere read an entire book, attended a classic play or played music of special quality from the great composers? A check of local adults in the Portland, Oregon area, at random, found out of 20 adults surveyed, only six had read an entire book and two had played classical music or attended a play.

Huffington Post found 28% of adults in the United States had not read a book in an entire year. But Slate also observes that most people don't even read an entire article online but simply skim through it. Many writers maintain that few people appear to read an entire article, even though they comment on social media, like Facebook, under a title link.Is that because it is more difficult to read online? Newspapers are dying, experts remind us, because of lack of interest in print media.

With the instant communication and technological temptations associated with social media, finding the time to read, study, converse and interact with others in a learning and growing situation appears to be more and more difficult for many people. Most people maintain they don't have time to do those things folks did in past generations as part of family and community life.

Teenagers watch their parents and other adults sitting for hours in front of television sets watching reality shows and television news mostly centering on politics. Enjoying a good book or an educational program can be a rare enough happening that many adolescents have few examples of anything other than what they themselves are doing, interacting socially on Internet media platforms and watching television reality shows and movies. Education is seen as terminal rather than a life-long and enjoyable process.

Complacency and apathy have become the adversaries of education. Those who have more in many cases lack incentive to improve, to look to the future, and to instill in young people the quest for knowledge.

Children learn what they observe from others. The first, and most important, solution to the problems of education rests with those who offer examples. So in changing educational systems, folks need to look within themselves for what they can do to change the direction of young people so that education becomes the goal of everyone.