What was to follow passion

When I hear that the K-12 students in this country have fallen behind other rich countries in Math, sciences, etc. I don't feel very surprised or even concerned. I was never good at math until I took my first econ class and realized that was what I wanted to do, then I got very good at math very quickly.

I think that performance follows passion and our educational woes are less a problem with our teachers and more an issue with the culture.  Some extraordinary teachers can change a student's personal ambitions and ignite their passions, but this is not true across all students even for those teachers, and it is not a skill set that can be imparted during an in-service day.  That said, I think in our homes we can help our children find where they are most driven to excel and I have not lost hope for our country or faith in the rising generation to find their passions and keep this country competitive.

That said, there are areas I do see this country falling behind in that are not at all acceptable

 The picture above is of Mexico's current president Enrique Peña Nieto.  Now, when President Obama was elected there was a lot of passion on both sides, but I think that when we got down to it he was elected not because of his experience or vision, so much as it was an image play.  Which I am fine with.  More and more we live in a technocracy driven by special interests, so if they want to make the figurehead handsome and enjoyable to listen to, that's fine.  But if we're going for that, let's at least make sure he's the best looking figurehead we can get.  I mean, look what Mexico came up with. 

I'm not saying President Obama is not a handsome fellow, but if he and President Peña are sitting at my table and I want to get a group of women to join us, I'm probably sending Enrique over there to make the pitch, with the expectation that the women will follow their passions.