Despite our enormous investment in education, our students do not perform as well as those in other nations who make do with much larger class sizes and much less luxurious buildings. The average class size in America has dropped from thirty in 1961 to twenty-three today. In Japan, the norm is thirty-six. In Taiwan, forty-four students per class is the average, and in South Korea, the average class size is forty-nine. -- P.198
"Between 1960 and 1999, the violent crime rate in the United States increased 226 percent. The murder rate increased 122 percent between 1963 and 1980; forcible rape increased 287 percent, robbery rose by 294 percent, and aggravated assault increased by 215 percent. Property crime ballooned as well, with burglary increasing 189 percent, larceny up 159 percent, and auto theft rising by 128 percent in the same period. This crime explosion coincided, as noted earlier, with a new leniency in punishment. While the number of violent crimes jumped from 1 million in 1960 to 2.9 million in 1970, the number of prison sentences meted out by the courts declined from 40,000 in 1960 to 37,000 in 1970. In other words, for every 100 serious crimes committed in 1960, 3.6 were punished by prison terms in 1960. By 1970, even that paltry figure had declined -- to 1.3 prison terms per 100 crimes committed. -- P.8" |
