The last 25 years were full of education reforms at any level and everywhere. So much talk about performance, practical skills, creativity - but where are we now after those years? Certainly in math skills, the general level fell sadly and universally. Similar direction for most other sciences. Creativity, human skills? Very skewed outcomes, from really good to clueless.

Education was critized at all times, remember
"need no, need no education,
need no, need no thought control..."?
Little did we knew then, how useless and manipulative education can be. There were old theories that education systems were created for industrial obedience from the start - but what can we say then about today? The rigid public education before the 80s had drawbacks - but it is one thing to say that we can (or have to) improve creativity development or what else, and the other thing is to see improvement happening on a wide scale (not just in elite schools).

The status of teachers, educators changed dramatically. They are now under most pressure and blame. But training excelent teachers requires resources. How much public investment do we see for that? Funding policies became so miserable, that we might as well forget systematic improvements. Parents or students have to pay for everything - while most benefits go to some creditors and industry shareholders.

And then there are visible class war shifts. Parents are now psyched about the competative aspect of education, ready to pay up (if able) for escalating private education. We have seen regulators actually deregulating finances, ecology. It is then thinkable that a central Education department is not just ignorant about rural kids in Kansas, but in fact is hostile towards them. Plan A, you asked?