What's needed are completely new business models that will promote the kind of excellence that you're talking about. The Japanese car industry did it 50 years ago. They couldn't compete with GM, Ford and Chrysler, with their network of mechanics who could fix their cars nationwide, so the Japanese committed to making cars that didn't break down. The rest is history. We're complaining about having lemons. let's figure out how to make lemonade. What systems can you create that will overcome the shortfalls that you're talking about, and enable us to turn out world class products and services? That's the mission. John, Dagny, Francisco and Hank would figure it out. We're their disciples, aren't we? Then we can do it.

It's the same with mathematics. The dependence on "technology," viz., calculators and computers, is dumbing down the students to the point of uselessness. None of them are learning mathematics; they're just learning how to punch keys on a calculator, with the calculator doing all the work, and they can't tell if what the calculator is showing is accurate,or even correct.

The thing I've found lacking is an appreciation of what we know that we know, what we know that we don't know, and what we don't know that we don't know. It's the last where we fall down, particularly since that last is the largest part of the knowable. I remember watching the movie "Apocalypto," where the Indians were blithely going about their usual activities, until some of them came to a beach and saw a Spanish galleon at anchor, with a bunch of Spaniards rowing to shore. They'd just encountered what they didn't know that they didn't know. If we're not constantly pushing the envelope of the unknown, shrinking the what we don't know that we don't know, we may end up like the Indians. Given that industrial culture requires us to constantly push that envelope, for us, it's a matter of survival. With globalization, for sure it's a matter of survival.

I only discovered that movie last year. I loved it. I can't believe I never heard of it when it came out 10 years ago.

Mike M:
Me? Anti-Intellectual? Nonsense.
I am, however, anti pretentious intellectual. Perhaps it's my writer's training . I follow the Hemmingway school. When interviewed by an adoring female she said, "Your books are so full of...." Hemmingway interrupted, "Short sentences." Plus, if you can demonstrate to me how knowing what a participle is and does will help a writer put together a coherent thought, I'd love to see it. In summation: Anti intellectual thought and behavior on my part depends entirely on the supposedly intellectual expressing it.
One further thought, Mike. Perhaps you don't have a sense of humor.

I have noticed that at a certain Dollar Store; also
I consider the service at Walmart fair-to-middling at
best, and awful at worst. But those places sell a
lot of Communist crap (which I don't buy, of course;I look over the merchandise very care-
fully before purchasing it). I consider dealing
in that stuff supporting slavery. But people who
don't mind doing that are likely not to treat their
employees very well, and then it is not surpris-
ing if employees in that situation are not very
nice to the customers.

You would have to find an English teacher who is published in the first place. I had a couple. None in college were. But writing cannot be taught: it must be learned. It is like a sport, a skill for which a coach can be helpful. However, the coach cannot pour motivation and talent into your muscles -- or your mind.

On the other hand, I trust that your graphics people were good at that. Your problem was that they could not tell stories. They taught themselves how to draw, admittedly, in many cases with the help of good teachers who also were artists. My experience in school is that the art teachers were better artists than the English teachers were writers. English teachers are readers. It would be like finding an art teacher who enjoys the museum but does not draw or paint.

Graphic novels were never encouraged in school, of course. In my day, teachers hit kids who were caught with comic books. However, I confess that i got through literature classes by relying on Classics Illustrated.

Actually, Sp_cebux, different school systems had (and have) different methods and philosophies. We have about 140,000 independent public school systems in the USA, plus about that many "others" - parochial (Catholic), other private schools, charter schools (semi-public), and home schooling.

Grammar, which used to be a year long endeavor in 7th grade is now nothing but ...

When I was in school in the 1950s and 1960s, Cleveland Public had a 30-year history of "tracks" for general, business, and college-bound students. For all of us, one semester 7 through 12 was grammar and one semester 7 through 12 was literature. For most of it, the literature was general, but specialized to American in the 11th grade and English in the 12th, including options for "academically talented" as well as "advanced placement" for college credit. Grammar followed similar lines of development from easy to sophisticated.

I work as a professional writer. At a used book store, I found our 12th grade grammar book, and was happy to pay the discount price. I mean, I have Chicago, and Columbia, and all those, but styles guides are not grammar books: why it must be that way; just so you know...

Herb, it is because "they cannot tell a participle from a pancake" that "they cannot string together words that would create a readable sentence."

I hate to have to say it, but your anti-intellectual attitude is just the other side of their coin. And this is not unusual for you or to you. You have expressed those sentiments before, and other conservatives do, too.

Well, there are real biomedical makers apparent, now. There is real reason to believe that it's not all just societal decay, but that people have been poisoned to some degree.

Guilty.

I remember those Kiss comic books!

Gene Simmons is a pain in the ass. However, he is very intelligent, multi talented, and has created his own life rather than merely swimming downstream with the rest of the fishes. Like most successful businessmen, he does it his way, and like most successful businessmen, you can't tell him anything without passing it through his personal filter. It makes him very tough to do business with, hence the P.I.T.A. label I do admire him.

I'd hate to think that something like this provides the explanation, but sometimes I wonder: "Almost half the population may be infected with a mysterious virus that makes people stupid" Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/047605_stu...

Hell, I was never a KISS fan, but I learned a lot about Gene Simmons.... in Astronomy Magazine!
He rocks, in so many ways!
For example... https://www.prod.facebook.com/Astrono...

jet, that's 'just' another indication of 'incompetence.'
There are many.

Semi-short story (as usual) from me...
Maybe 20 years ago, my department manager came to me on a Friday Afternoon and said, "Alan, I really appreciate your maturity and ability to solve problems we run into in our department and with our Sales Rep customers and their customers. But I don't see that kind of thinking in many of the others in our group. Can you please tell me how to hire 'more people like you'? What should I look for?"
I replied that that's a tough question... give me the weekend to think it over, ok? He agreed.
Monday morning he walked over and asked me if I'd figured out the answer. I replied,
"Yes... Don't hire anyone under 40 years old."

I've been trying to figure out "what changed" ever since and have come up with several possibilities but no clearly Root Causes.
That's probably why, in MY retirement, I focus so much on blog sites where bitchin' is the Way of Life, trying to teach Critical Thinking as a potential Way Out.

Good luck to us all. Recent developments on college campuses and in political circuses have been very discouraging to me. Probably why I like to sleep alot, though turning 70 may have had some impact, too.
:)

I don't care if they don't know a participle from a pancake, so long as they could string together words that would create a readable sentence. Most of what I read lately requires interpretation.

The modern school system believes that kids need not learn spelling anymore. That the auto-spell checker is all they need. Ditto for the grammar checker.

Kids are no longer taught to conjugate verbs. Heck, they don't even know what a preposition is, much less can they tell you what 'past participle' means. They do not graph sentences. Grammar, which used to be a year long endeavor in 7th grade is now nothing but reading, reading, and more reading. No reports are required until at least the 9th grade when its apparent that those 9th graders, like you say, cannot write worth a the price of the sheets of paper provided. Those with signs of some writing skill are permitted to proceed on to 'Advanced Composition' in my kids' district. That's 25-40 kids for a 700-person class size. (~4-6% of the students)

The current generation of Millennials has hardly had to lift a finger to graduate, either. Grade inflation has become the norm as teachers are ghastly afraid to fail any student regardless of ineptitude. They graduate high school with the expectation that effort is not required; that life will just provide stuff. I.e., that the government will give them whatever subsistence they believe they are entitled. Fervor for work, accomplishment, achievement, setting goals are all concepts as foreign as old-folks talking about days sans smart phones.

As a nation, we are in grave danger. You think finding a writer is hard... wait until you need to hire a Millennial.

His name is Spike Steffenhagen and you'll find his writing all over rock music, graphic novels, etc. He was at the time a huge fan of KISS which led us to a close association with Gene Simmons and the publication of four comic books of their career. The story he submitted in 1990 was a horror story which we published in our first horror comic book. The series was calle GORE comic books, but if you looked closely, you will note that the series was actually called "Tipper GORE's Comics and Stories. Tipper Gore, the wife of Al Gore, founded the PMRC which was an organization devoted to censoring comic books, magazines and graphic novels. By naming horror books after her, we hoped she would sue us which would allow us to bring her censorship efforts to the public. She didn't take the bait. Damn!

my 41cx got tired in 08 and came home. . hang in there
and keep your options open! -- j
.

Oh...I probably speak of retirement almost every day - haha! I'm about 4 or 5 years out from really slowing down. But, who knows? I might just put my calculator in my pocket and walk out the door some day earlier than that...

May I say that I think I see quite a bit of poor writing in this place, also?

you are Rearden in hiding, I bet, or HRHughes' successor-in-spirit.
having studied for it for 30 years, I aced the PE ... and
worked it for 30 more, then retired. . back off when you
can, sir;;; it's fun! -- j
.

LOL...I can just picture that! That's funny.