The state of education

I'm struggling with a recent story on the cover of Newsweek, discussing the possibly excessive pressure on younger children (kindergarten and first grade) to succeed in traditional school subjects like reading and writing.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14638573/site/newsweek/

While the story itself was both thought-provoking and heart-breaking, my friend Suzanne (gradgirl) and I agree that it seems odd to focus on the "difficulties" of these priviledged students who are being lavished with extra resources and attention, when an equal or larger number of students are failing completely and who are rarely the focus of the media (or many others, for that matter).