You make some good points. I'm certainly not an expert in education or the school system. I disliked school. No, strike that - I absolutely detested it - from the very first day of the very first grade.
That said, this social agenda is killing the educational system. Schools spend too much time teaching nonsense at the expence of math and science. Kids are graduating from high school without understanding basic algebra. I've seen firsthand what happens when they get to college - disaster. Their profs have to waste the first few weeks teaching the algebra they should have mastered by the 10th grade, because they need it for their classes.
I found this on another site and thought it made your point quite well..
The following examples may help to clarify the difference between the new and old math.
1960: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of this price. What is his profit?
1970 (Traditional math): A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. What is his profit?
1975 (New Math): A logger exchanges a set L of lumber for a set M of money. The cardinality of set M is 100 and each element is worth $1.
(a) make 100 dots representing the elements of the set M
(b) The set C representing costs of production contains 20 fewer points than set M. Represent the set C as a subset of the set M.
(c) What is the cardinality of the set P of profits?
1990 (Dumbed-down math): A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Underline the number 20.
1997 (Whole Math): By cutting down a forest full of beautiful trees, a logger makes $20.
(a) What do you think of this way of making money?
(b) How did the forest birds and squirrels feel?
(c) Draw a picture of the forest as you'd like it to look.