Just Who Should We Blame For Falling Behind?

There are some things I just don't understand. Some questions I have. Like for instance, why don't we provide returning soldiers from active duty with the training and skills they'll need in order to get a decent job? Hey, for that matter, why don't we provide that kind of training in skill sets for everyone who's out of work? To match those industries looking for workers. And how about this? Why don't colleges and universities and even trade schools do the same? Why is it that colleges, universities, trade schools and even high schools keep cranking out students that simply aren't ready for the next step in their lives? If a graduating senior in high school is going to college, why aren't they ready for college work? But how about if they plan on entering the workforce right out of high school? What has public school provided them with so they can actually land a job other than flipping burgers? I keep reading how we've fallen behind the rest of the world in education. How in the world could this have happened? I mean, how hard is it to keep a step ahead of the rest of the world? We held a substantial lead for decades. What changed? Who's at fault? Now, I really don't want to know who's at fault, unless the same fools are still in charge. What I want to know is who hasn't been keeping their collective eyes on the ball? And only if they're still in charge of that. Some say it's the immigration policies that has kept out immigrants we really need. Some say it's industry that hasn't kept education informed or worked with education. Some will say anything to shift the blame away from themselves. What I want to know is when is somebody going to do something about it. Our elected officials don't seem to have the faintest idea how to solve the problem. Hey, they don't seem to even be able to ask the right questions of the right people. But if not them, then who? Whom shall we trust to get the job done. What does the "job" entail? I think it's time for education, government and industry to sit down and figure this thing out. Once and for all. At least for the near term. But then lots of folks don't want the federal government involved in local issues of education. Well let me tell you, local issues haven't been attended to locally so it's time to bring in the big horses. Some say it's not industries responsibility. But industry is the first to suffer and the first to complain about the lack of skills. It's time for industry to get involved. And don't let education off the hook either. Education should be looking for ways to better prepare these young people to perform in the workplace, not just waiting for somebody to tell them it's time to change. And then anguishing over it. Everybody is anguishing over this problem, but nobody is fixing the problem. Yet. And then there's the parents. There's far too many parents who just don't really pay much attention to their children's education. As long as the kids maintain a certain grade average, they're satisfied. It may be buggy whips, but as long as there's an "A" in it, then it's okay. Does this sound like a harsh assessment of the situation? I meant it to be.