An "Uptick" In The Science Scores!

A new article is out heralding the "uptick" of science scores in the United States as compared to the students of other industrialized nations.

Here in the land of celebrated mediocrity, the most menial of improvements are trotted out as "good news." Sure, we have an "uptick" in science scores, but we are still 25th out of 34 nations in math, and we are still very far behind Asian countries, and, well, almost any country with a reliable electrical grid (we're even behind some that don't!).
An even sadder truth in the U.S. is how the importance of education measures up to, oh, let's say our national obsession: sports. Imagine the complete, total humiliation that would be felt if the U.S. finished 25th out of 34 in the Olympics? Imagine the nationwide shame if Canadian teams won the World Series for 30 years in a row. But education? Pffff...NERDS! Who cares about stupid school?
Why is this true? Because in the countries currently beating the stuffing out of us, the idea that education is important is more than a campaign slogan. It is a cultural truth. It is a truth known by students who witness everyday the humdrum, peasant-like quality of life that awaits those who do not take their studies seriously and find themselves shackled to slave wage labor jobs. You think school is boring in China? That's fine. Put up your books, the rice fields are over there. Hǎo yùnqì! (good luck!)
Not too long ago, President Obama traveled to South Korea and happened to ask the South Korean prime minister, "In America, we are having trouble with education. What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of education in your country?" According to the President, the prime minister replied, "That the biggest education challenge he had was an insistence, a demand from parents for excellence in the schools."
When, and only when, the United States has a family unit with parents that insist upon the same high standards will we make any headway. Until most parents, and not just some, work with teachers to ensure that students are studying and practicing the math/science/reading skills necessary to be competitive in the 21st century...NO OTHER REFORM will be effective.
But in case this doesn't happen, and it probably won't, let's all practice a new patriotic cheer, much like what one hears at the Olympics: "USA...USA...USA...we're number 25.....USA...USA....we're number 25."
Just doesn't have the same ring, does it?