In 2020, Kevin Hanley works as a janitor. In 2050, his son will be a beggar on the streets. How did this happen to all the Kevin Hanleys in one generation? That story was only fictional, titled “The Tale of the Lazy Teenager” by Ben Stein. It was about the decline of America due to the derogation of the American education system. If the education system fails, we will not become better than our ancestors in the sense that we will not have education and therefore we will return to the starting positions of beasts of burden. Education and our conscience are what separates us from animals. However, according to “The Land of Opportunity” by James Loewen, the education system is also slipping, stating that when it asked questions like “why are people poor?” got woefully inadequate responses. In both “The Land of Opportunity” and “Lies My History Teacher Told Me,” also by Loewen, the root cause of most problems in schools and their lack of effective instruction are textbooks. Textbooks cause most of the main problem. : These problems include aridity and the wrong perspective. Both pieces agree on this. Because textbooks are the required curriculum for professors, and textbooks are dry and boring, it is difficult for professors to revive history again. “Lies My History Teacher Told Me” states that history is one of the most hated courses in American high schools, even surpassing mathematics! Another problem textbooks encounter is that they build on each other. If something new is found, everyone updates. If another finds a new perspective, then others include it in their article. Besides this, most history textbooks have another problem. This problem has not been solved... halfway through the article... there will be a quote from "The Tale of the Lazy Teenager" said by Kevin Hanley in 2050 after talking about America with the Japanese anthropologist in the past. “Being able to make a living with your own mind instead of stealing,” he says. "It would be a miracle." Works Cited Loewen, James W. The Land of Opportunity. From investigation to academic writing. By Stuart Greene and April Lidinsky. Ed. Stephen A. Scipione. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2012. 201-05. Print.Loewen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me. 1996. From inquiry to academic writing. By Stuart Greene and April Lidinsky. Ed. Stephen A. Scipione. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2012. 383-403. Print.Stein, Ben. "The Tale of the Lazy Teenager." The newsletter of the Somerville Educational Association. Somerville Educational Association, 2008. Web. Nov. 20. 2013.