If that's a goal of high school, then yes, it's a huge failing. There's also a bunch of other useful stuff they don't teach you, like cooking and how to wash your clothes. There's no coherent idea of what school is supposed to be, though. Is it a place to learn a bunch of practical skills? Or a place to read about some interesting ideas? All those things take time and money, and we end up with a school that does a bunch of different stuff with no real plan.