U.S. Education Is Slipping, to Put it Kindly
Below is a performance of Frederik Chopin’s waltz in G flat.
I bring it up because a dear old friend who grew up in the Netherlands used to play it, and when I asked him how he could get through such a difficult piece, he told me that every kid he went to school with learned to play the piano at that level, at the very least.
High schoolers also read Plato and Descartes, and speak fluent English (as well as Dutch) and get by in both French and German.
I guess they figure that when you got a “thing” growing out of your hand; that will tell you what you want / need to know — who needs an education.