THE NEXT INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION IN WHICH THE U.S. WILL EXCEL: competitive texting. Of 34 countries participating in the Program for International Student Assessment, U.S. students ranked 17th overall in science, 14th in reading, and 25th in math. American students prefer to “text,” “socialize,” and “watch Youtube videos.”

According to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, the solution to our poor international standing is the adoption of national curriculum standards and revamping teacher pay to reward performance rather than credentials and seniority.

Marybeth Hicks responds:

Yo, Arnie. Merit pay for teachers is not the problem.

More likely, the problem rests at the feet of the teacher education elite, who long ago usurped American public education for the cause of social justice and social engineering. Thanks to their “child centered” pedagogy, we’re more concerned about righting injustice than teaching kids the knowledge and skills they will need to be truly competitive, self-sufficient and successful.

We’re infusing self-esteem, while in far away Finland, Australia and South Korea, they’re simply teaching math, science and reading to a eager population of knowledge-thirsty learners. This would explain why their kids are acing the tests, while ours aren’t.

We’re infusing self-esteem, while in far away Finland, Australia and South Korea, they’re simply teaching math, science and reading.