This is completely off topic, but I was thinking about this statement just the other day -- "Don't you think the world would be a little better off if more peop

This is completely off topic, but I was thinking about this statement just the other day -- "Don't you think the world would be a little better off if more people spent more time studying math and science?" -- in the context of this abominable new educational policy that we have here in the US called the "Common Core Curriculum". I don't understand the Common Core well enough to really come up with policy ideas about it, but the gist of the idea is that our children here in America are not as good at Math and Science as other countries, and that we should be very alarmed by that supposed fact. The response has been to cut back on arts, music programs, physical education in order to spend more time "teaching" kids to get better grades on test about Math and Science. I had this thought, and I wonder if it's controversial. Might it be okay that some kids in other countries are better at math and science than our kids supposedly are here? Is that the only set of skills that America is going to need in the 21st century, to the detriment of pretty much everything else? I don't think so, personally. I think it's more important that kids get a well rounded experience, even if that means lower scores on some tests that couldn't possibly be an accurate measure across global cultures. I'm sorry, I'd have made this shorter but I didn't have the time.