If you're on this site, the odds are high that your kids are receiving a decent education, so don't use yourself or your community as an example. Let's consider the majority of America's children. Are they learning to read books? Will they be able to economically compete with their peers from China and elsewhere in the decades to follow? After all, the world is always becoming smaller. Relevance, affluence and power will be preceded by technological innovations. Those who innovate will control the future.