UK education system bottom ranking

[coulis272]

So I have a question

Is the education system in the UK really that bad when compared with say the likes of Spain, France, Italy, Greece etc? I have had several individuals from these specific countries say to me that they absolutely abhor the schooling system here and the children learn absolutely nought. How there is far more actually taught in said countries and you would have a child of the same age know four or five times what a British child would know.
What do you all think?

@pieceofpurplesky yes, formerly racecar

They should be horrofied, it’s deeply disturbing. That said it doesn’t seem to be a problem confined to the current generation from what I can see. A lot of British people have very weird thinking styles or lack of them. I don’t know how to describe it but it’s not right when you have supposedly educated people and you can see them labouring away at following a fairly clear line of reasoning. I think it may be extra obvious in the degree I am doing due to the nature of the work.

I agree with what you re that parents are also responsible but then again if the state has decided to practically take over the education sector you could argue that they have assumed responsibility for education and therefore are the most culpable. Ultimately the parents usually don’t know any better having been through the same system. Ditto a lot of the teachers.

Maybe it’s a cultural problem? The UK is so introspective, Euro centric at best that it fails to question the status quo. The policies and social norms around multiculturalism/class here are also problematic. A large part of why people were I come from think better or at least differently in general is down to the influx and integration of migrants from all over and the disintegration of the British class system. It’s much more competitive in a way. In Britain it’s competitive AF in the top ten percent, I can’t argue that the people at the top are world class but you fall below that and end up in some kind of alternative universe where the height of aspiration is to send your child to the local grammar school and drive a bmw/have an extra tiny bedroom for no apparent reason. You don’t really need to be able to think critically to achieve that I suppose.

I do think you generalise a lot as obviously you have only met a small percentage of the population. None of those aspirations are mine or, indeed, anyone I know.
There were no grammar schools where I lived. I didn't go to private school and went to an OK, non RG university. I know I am not alone.