Time to write off public education?

[bobman0330]

As we all know, the US public school system is, by and large, a disgrace. The degree to which US high school graduates lag behind those of other countries is heavily publicized. The sources of the problems are intractable.

My question is what would happen if we just accepted that our public schools suck and moved on? At this point in time, the number of people needing exactly a quality high-school education is shrinking. With the decline of manufacturing and related jobs, more people are moving into either high-skilled jobs requiring higher education or service jobs requiring little in the way of education.

Of course, even if that's the direction we're moving in, our public schools are still poorly suited for their task. The big problem I see is that inequality in public education leads to inequality in higher education. But I think our education dollars would be better spent if we realized the overall uselessness of high school education in modern America and adapted ourselves to that reality.