This statement is suggestive of where the problem lies. A doctoral thesis is supposed to be an original piece of work. The idea of assigning credit hours towards it is meaningless. We don't honour creative people for the number of hours they put in but for the works they leave behind.
Modern education systems in North America focus on the wrong things.
And more specifically what it is supposed to tell us with regards to children's education? So, let's assume he is a highly trained expert in 1 or 2 fields and then the doctorate is like putting a needle-like focus on one (comparatively) tiny area of those fields and going in deep all the way. This, again, has nothing to do with children's education... it's like complaining that a brain surgeon cannot even pass basic school-level French grammar.
All this is flying too close to the "why do kids have to learn all this crap like math, art, music, history?? all they wanna do is become rich managers and bankers or CEOs anyway!" argument.
I blame the US for this hideous dilution of the title, and qualification of Doctor. While being a young curmudgeon I will also condemn the practice of M.D.s being called Doctor.