It sounds like our educational system too. A hot political topic for us as well, according to many articles I've read.
I live in North America, in what is called the Midwest. The Midwest is traditional, home-spun, and on the corny side. The people are conservative and culturally a little backward.
It's nowhere near the glitz and excitement of say, a New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, or Las Vegas. It very hard to do something innovative here. People look at you like you're crazy. The city shuts down pretty early except for a few places.
I suppose we get a lot of the Arts, but not much that I am interested in. It's kind of a stifling environment and the weather is iffy, at best. I'd like to move to a warmer climate, but it's too hard to uproot, so this will likely be my final resting place.