Ken, this is one of the things that the current state of affairs, and the current mindset, resists. People don't like change and they want to hang on to their way of doing things. That is a limitation any way you look at it. There are plenty of smart people out there that could be more creative and come up with improvements and solutions if the shackles of previous century solutions were removed.
Kids need to read more science fiction, and create more science fiction. It addresses many areas where people are not sufficiently schooled/trained/edumacated. Creativity, thinking outside the box (hell, outside three or four dimensions!), and the openness to new ideas and concepts. The exact opposite of what passes for most education today.
Science fiction should be on every curriculum and reading list.
R