School: A Partial Education

 

 

Annual Investment: Over $1 Trillion USD

Every year, Americans invest about 5 percent of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product in education. We invest about $600 billion to educate about 50 million children and teenagers in a highly-structured K-12 system that emphasizes reading, writing, mathematics, science, history, and PSHE (personal, social health education). In addition, we invest about $500 billion in higher education, which benefits approximately 20 million people, mostly in their 20s. America's total annual investment in educating people 2-25 years old exceeds $1 trillion.

 

Annual Enrollment: Over 70 Million Americans

At any given time, roughly 70 million Americans are enrolled in some sort of school. The current U.S. population is 317 million. Simple math: 250 million Americans (79%) are not currently enrolled in school or any formal education program. Most of  these people are over 25 years old.

 

An Educated Nation...

Nearly half of Americans complete a college education. In fact, the U.S. has long been a leader among OECD and G20 nations in "tertiary attainment"--the percentage of the 25-64 population with college degrees. The U.S. is  falling behind. For example, South Korea (65%) now outpaces the U.S. (38%).

 

...with notable exceptions

More than half of Americans graduated high school, but not college. Graduation rates for Black Americans are about 20%, and for Hispanics (and Native Americans), about 15%.

 

...and reasonable expectations

Schools were never intended to provide a complete education to support every human endeavor. At best, school prepares students within a narrow band of pursuits. Every teacher is allowed about 1,000 hours of teaching per school year, but most of that time is controlled by curriculum mandates and a system mired in extensive testing.

 

A Realistic View of American Adults

• Adults are educated by a school system focused on the completion of degree requirements through competent learning, not the cultivation of mindful thinking

• Half of American adults navigate daily life with a college degree; the others use a high school degree

• A college degree is awarded after a student completes the equivalent of two weeks of work per course. Most "four year degrees" reflect less than two years of full-time work

• Most American adults receive little formal education beyond age 22, so we learn on our own

• "Learning on our own" involves listening to the radio, watching TV and movies, reading the occasional book or magazine, and browsing the web