What is the theme in That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back by Thomas L. Friedman?

The decline of education is the main theme in the book. The education system in America has been in decline for decades. Our students are not testing as high as students of other industrialized nations. Following are some specifics to back up that premise. Even American students themselves feel that their future is somewhat in jeopardy. At an education conference author Thomas Friedman attended in San Jose, a junior high student told him that the Chinese people have more ambition than Americans. Where does that sentiment come from? It just has become part of the American discourse. One of the main reasons people feel that China is leaving us in their dust is the inattention and lack of support for our education system that have been becoming more and more apparent in recent years.