Higher learning

So the other day I was talking to a person who was going to a university (an American one) and he said he was taking some "Middle East Studies" class or something. I asked him if he knew the difference between Sunni and Shi'a Islam and he didn't know. I then asked him if he knew anything about how after World War I, territories formerly controlled by the Ottoman Empire became League of Nations mandates under British and French administration, and he knew nothing about it. I don't know what he's being taught but I think knowing the difference between the two main denominations of Islam and the history of the region is important if he's going to act like he's an expert on the subject. I'm not claiming to be an expert but it's funny how I know so much more than him. Nonetheless, he's the educated one because he's taking a class for it at a university and I'm not.

I got F's in school and I dropped out and I have never spent a single day in college so can somebody please explain why I know more than him?

Here's how the American education system works.

Elementary school: You actually learn basic skills like math, some science, some history, and other crap. Grades are based almost entirely on effort and quality of work.

Middle school: The school still teaches but not as much, most of school is starting to become a social playground. Grades are based on social status and a little bit on knowledge.

High school: Absolutely no learning. People simply socialize all day and bully people less socially popular as them. Grades are entirely are based on wealth and popularity. Yet for some reason drop outs are looked down upon.

University: People spend the equivalent of a Lamborghini Countach over a period of 4 years to "learn" things they will never once apply to their actual job. Yet for some reason people with degrees are seen as experts in their fields.