It doesn't have to be either/or. Any half decent education system manages both. And we need STEM because most people (in the US and elsewhere) have so little idea of how the technology they use every day, functions. If you don't believe me, ask someone to explain how cell phones work, or what makes bank ATMs function, or how ABS works, or even what gets an airplane off the ground... I'm not talking details of aeronautical engineering or coding, or mechanics, just general principles; people are clueless. When we rely on a smaller and smaller group of people to understand technology, first, we have to import people to keep it all functioning, because too few people here are qualified, and second, we are completely reliant on those people to do what is in our best interests without us really understanding how any checks and rules should work.

this is how you make good soldiers, good workers, who are fine with a dictaturship because you made people think that a dictaturship is right because they are in in a great danger... If it works why change? If it works it's because they (some americans) are unaware of all the world rights and rules and they are sure of the "threats" for liberties (which ones?) they have... If some redneck downvote me, be aware that i lost someone in the january seven 2015 and i will not joke about that, but i still got a brain, and islam is my really dear friend! i will fight stupidity all my life, and yours as an emergency for the world!

Maybe the government should have public schools give out National Geographic Magazines, FREE! Yes, I'm left of Bernie, public education should be free, from preschool to college.

None of this has to do witheducation.People tend to know what they need to use daily and forget the rest. So teaching it won't mean thy remb

Sorry, Chris, but a few random people selected for a humor piece does not validate the notion that all Americans are poorly educated. Try this same "test" in any other nation and you'll see as much if not more failure.