Our education system is obsessed with presentation over content. Parents request teachers who have pretty bulletin boards, are young and dress like executive secretaries. Nobody pays attention to how much the children actually learn. Its easy to snow parents and administrators with 'glitz'. These same teachers also give 'easy marks' to please everyone.

If parents took the time to dig below the surface, they would find that the messiest classrooms (those that look like a kid's bedroom) where the walls are covered with student work (not the teacher's work), are creative, child-centered environments. Their marks are fair but not always what parents want to hear.

Its a problem we have noticed for a long time.

Our society is now very visual. Good music is not enough. You need to 'look good' on camera and have a great video too. Music is secondary.

We live in a visual world where images reign supreme. Listening is a thing of the past. Speaking skills and social skills are also diminishing. I blame it on technological advances (computers, videos, etc.) Computer require very little effort from the user. No listening or speaking required.