When I read reports of America falling behind in education, I have to smile. America had already fallen behind back in 1992 when I came to the US from Singapore so I don't think anything has changed much. If anything, the US is now a bit further behind. The top Prep school where I worked in the US didn't yet use computers. The principal calculated my salary with the aid of a large adding machine with paper roller and my salary and benefits were about a third paid me by Singapore. Coming from an Asian society where my status was akin to godliness, my new role in the US, in spite of the school's reputation of being a Blue Ribbon School, felt nearer to government clerk. I came from a highly competitive system where the students' results in the final examinations determined entry to university and overseas scholarships to the more "relaxed" American high school where the year revolved around the success of the sports teams and college admissions were sewn up by the Christmas of the final year. The GPA system which the students manipulated seemed a strange way to motivate learning and understanding. The day the examination results came out in Singapore was electric with screams of joy, and odd tears. In the US getting dressed up to graduate was the highlight even though it was virtually automatic as was college entry.