The article was very provocative and definitely makes some good points. However, like everything in life balance is key. I agree with Rob and Dominique, in the early grades, children need to learn concrete information, in fact, at this stage, many are not able to have abstract thought. It is clearly important to teach kids "how to think" and not make children regurgitate facts, but depending on "google" for all your information is not a wise choice either. There was argument against making a child learn the periodic table and historical facts, however, sometimes before you can move on and "talk the talk" in chemistry and history and other subjects, you need to have some common knowledge in these areas. Before you can think abstactly in chemistry, you would need to know the elements so well you could draw them from memory. Using your memory is also one component of education. Yes, the future is going to require children to be a part of a global classroom and language and technology will be vital to their success. But, reading, writing, and arithmatic should be a part of this equation. It is interesting that the article points to Sweden, Belgium, and Singapore as examples. These countries have higher taxes than any other country. If you think the taxes in the US are astronomical, take a peak at the taxes in Sweden and Singapore. You do get what you pay for. It is your choice. I still choose the US.