My parents both stopped their education near 9th grade level because education system in Vietnam had changed dramatically after the North had taken full control. They, along with their parents (my grandparents), agreed that they weren't going to go through this new system because it was "biased" and full of "crap". (Disclaimer: I have no opinion on the education system in Vietnam) They have been happily living in the USA for the past 25 years as professional manicurists. My father was quick enough to snag some land for a cheap price in Saigon during the 80's which gave a MASSIVE payout when he recently sold it about 2 years ago.

They want me to stay along the path with school and I don't mind that at all. I kinda study and barely get by with low A's and high B's. School does seem like a waste of time but I see the educational system as a foundation to forge new tools to use in the real world. I might never ever use Heron's Formula again outside of school, but I also don't know where my life is going. It could be going towards that Computer Science degree that I currently walk towards, or it could be towards some type of work in the field of construction.

I just think that there must be some way to summarize the amount of education we learn in school. We should be able to pick a line of work that we want sooner and start preparing earlier so that we can get to the experience sooner.