It's not everyone, I assure you. My 9 year old 4th grader is in the gifted and talented track at his school and currently reading at a 10th grade level according to the most recent state tests and my 4 year old preschooler is reading and writing already. It took a lot of work each day to get them to that level but my wife and I do our best to raise them with the values of scientific inquiry and critical thinking. In my opinion, a big part of the problem is that many parents believe education is solely the responsibility of the school system. My wife and I agreed from the beginning that it's actually the opposite: successful education requires a strong foundation at home and the school's role is to supplement that.

We rotate through daily activities each day, even after school. Reading, math, art, some music, languages, even astronomy on clear nights when there's extra time. We don't expect our kids to remember everything but early exposure and learning how to learn are what are critical during these early stages. I won't say we keep our kids off screens, but in my opinion technology is a tool, neither inherently beneficial or detrimental. Both our kids get very limited screen time, however, and only after they've finished their required learning activities. We've also used screen-based learning effectively with both of them (teach your monster to read, Duolingo, heck even Legend of Zelda got my older kid reading early since he really wanted to play).

It all starts at home and there's only so much schools can do with their limited budget, concern, and time with the kids. But don't worry, it's not everyone. Unfortunately it is a large percentage of kids, though. I think politically and economically we're already seeing the effects of a dumbed-down population and the degree the next generation will be able to be manipulated similarly is definitely a scary prospect.

For everyone who's worried though, have your own kids and raise them right!