Great points! And yes, I think that (strictly) teaching to a standardized test has done great harm to many school districts. And as much as technology can (and should be) an educational aid, when students no longer know how to perform tasks when they do not have access to their computers, iPads or iPhones, their education to that point has little value. When I was in elementary school, calculators were just coming into widespread use. But we were not allowed to use calculators in school. The thinking was, if we knew how to perform calculations long hand, then (and only then) should we be allowed to use the shortcut/quick method. Now I'm spoiled. I still (roughly) remember how to calculate things like NPVs and IRRs long hand, but I reach for my HP12C like it's an extension of my arm. Understanding the basic mechanics of what you're doing will help you to understand why you're doing whatever it is that you're doing
Where I work now, there is an older gentleman who just has a high school diploma. He's worked at this company for about as long as I have been alive. He is truly "old school". Last year, about the time that I first joined the company, I was working on a project in his area. To look at him, you'd think he was just an average Joe. But he blew me away. He had more knowledge of trigonometry and calculus in his head than I could find on a laptop. There I stood, an ex-banker with an MBA, an Econ degree and a wall of professional certifications, and this high school grad in his 60's was showing me what was what. Through his years of experience, he had built a head full of practical knowledge. And he did that while only having a basic formal education. I've grown to like and appreciate him. I've often told him that my next job is to clone him before he retires next year. Why? Because he'll likely be replaced by some 20-something hoople-head, who thinks that he's an engineer because he knows how to play Grand Theft Auto on an Xbox. We have several of those where I work too. Dealing with them makes me look forward to retiring early. Most of them are just talking babies who have not an ounce of practical knowledge. From my mother (who is ahead of his generation) to this fellow to me to the young hoople-heads, I believe you could almost draw a downward sloping trendline of degradation in education or practical knowledge. It's truly scary to think what the next generation will look like.
BTW, do you also think that one problem with the American educational system is our society at large? What I mean is, when you look at Asian societies (Japan, China, South Korea and even India) they see the extreme importance of being well educated - and having practical as well as theoretical knowledge. IMO, our focus is more on (too much on) superficial, social things: do you feel good about yourself? If you're a screw-up, as long as no one is allowed to call you a screw-up, you're OK, I'm OK, we're OK. Are you good at sports? Are you popular? Are you a bully? Are you being bullied? Do you have ADDHD ABCDEFG? Do you need some Ritalin? Or maybe Adderall? Between parents who aren't really parents and a society that doesn't value objective learning, maybe it's no surprise that our kids are as ill-prepared as they are once they graduate.
Any extreme is not good. But to be honest, I think I would rather read stories about American kids jumping out of buildings to commit suicide because they got a bad grade (like Japanese kids), rather than shooting their teacher and schoolmates because someone made fun of them for not having the latest model Nike shoes.