+1 Our schools simply do not teach critical thinking. Very few educational systems do worldwide, in fact. Students mostly just learn through repetition and rot

+1 Our schools simply do not teach critical thinking. Very few educational systems do worldwide, in fact. Students mostly just learn through repetition and rote memorization, and formulaic creative processes (standard five paragraph essay, multiple choice history tests, spelling bees, etc). In addition, the state of our educational system right now (not just in the US, but worldwide) comes from an industrial tradition, not one in tune with the modern economy. - Students are 'batch processed' in grades based on age regardless of ability - Schools are designed to keep the kids somewhere while the parents work on a set schedule, with all school functions, programs, and systems assuming all parents have the same schedule, jobs, income, and parenting needs - Students are taught the same things at the same rate--attempts to teach kids at their own level (tracking, advanced classes, special ed, etc) are often derided as 'unequal' or elitist. And yet we don't expect all adults to have the same skills or learn at the same rate or have the same talents, so why should we expect such of our kids? - When it comes to higher education, liberal arts does a good job of teaching some degree of critical thinking but do worse at teaching hard skills. Vocational schools have the opposite problem. Either way, students aren't really equipped going into college to know what skills they will or won't need because their training up until then has been so misaligned with whatever path they may end up taking. - Most importantly, students are stripped of their individuality in ways subtle and not-so-subtle. School uniforms, school dieting rules and food restrictions, sports culture, speech codes, pageantry around prom and various 'school spirit' initiatives and interschool rivalries, standardized testing, GPAs and school rankings, college admissions standards... It's no surprise that kids who come out of this system become adults who follow all the processes and rules based on the rulebook rather than common sense (ahem, United), or fail to account for unexpected turns of events (2008 financial crisis), or fail to question authority figures (Bernie Madoff). And it's also not surprising that our graduates lack the sort of long-term strategic thinking and self analysis required to be successful in a changing economy with constantly changing rules. We clearly need some sort of rebuilding of our education system to account for a modern economy where 1) Humans are not machines, 2) Adaptability and learning ability matter more than rote memorization, 3) Creativity is encouraged, and 4) Diversity in background, abilities, talent, and experience are strengths, not weaknesses.