The premise that schools are failing, teachers are doing a horrible job, and professors like me are ruining America and sending our economy into decline, is a myth perpetuated by those with political and for-profit agendas. If you think I'm wrong, show me some research-based data showing said decline and some isolated variables. Show me some valid, reliable, comparable data, collected over time, that shows our schools are failing and that teachers are doing a horrible job. Give me some solid data that indicates that our schools are worse than they were 5, 10, 20, or 30 years ago. That data should not be based on your selected memory of what you think schools were like once upon a time, but some solid data with appropriate sample sizes, that represent the population to which you are seeking to generalize. As well, that data should not be cherry-picked to support your predetermined belief. Causality should not be assigned to whatever issue you seem to take exception with.