Undereducated, not dumb. It seems that the American public education system has gone much further down the route ours is pursuing. The idea that the purpose of education is to turn out work-ready drones for low-income jobs.

To me, the primary purpose of education is to produce responsible citizens, capable of critical thinking, literate, numerate, aware of their rights and their duties, and with a sound general knowledge covering history, geography, all three main sciences, social and cultural studies, the arts, basic financial skills, basic cookery and home maintenance. Kids need to spend more time actually studying subjects, rather than preparing for exams, and teachers need to teach - to pass on their knowledge and skills -rather than be social workers or substitute parents or administrators buried under paperwork.

But then I'm old and old-fashioned!