I think grading the parents is a great idea. When we were raising my nephew we found from his teachers that we were one of three parents out of thrity-five that came to parent teacher conferences. Less were more involved without school pressure.
I feel that quite a few of the problems our children face today stem from a lack of parental/family involvement. Parents I talk to don't know what courses their children are taking, schedules etc. I cannot imagine missing the great experience of being involved with my nephew's education. Maybe if the schools grade the parents they will realize the parental responsibilty extends past diapers, TV and cell phones. Be involved with your children! The most rewarding experience.

On the issue of schools grading parents. I think it's time that the school system starts focusing on finding their own problems and stops trying to run my household.  Instead of blaming parents for children not excelling at school maybe they should take a closer look at the quality of teachers.  I have three children, two are now in college and one in junior high.  My two oldest children attended school in several school districts over the years due to the fact that we were in the military.  I have seen really good schools and really bad schools.  If the school would like the grade me go right ahead but I think the real grade should be given to the school by the parents.  Maybe that grade should also be linked to teacher raises and tenure.  There are teachers out there that are certainly not being paid what they are worth and there are some that should look for another career.

The bottom line is there is no such thing as the perfect parent and no such thing as the perfect teacher.  The real issue in are the parents and teachers communicating.  It has to be a two way street if our kids are going excell scholastically.

I think some parents would fail.

Not only should parents get graded on their parenting effort, they should also lose any tax cedit they get should go into their local school districts. I worked for our local school district for 13 years and every year children are coming to school less and less prepared for school.

We have recently received a committment letter from our school that was to be signed by parents.  I think it's a great idea.  Basically, it was asking what committment you would make to ensure that your child is successful.  It's basic stuff that to me, is stuff you should be doing anyway. ie. attend parent teacher conferences, helping with PTO activities, ensuring your child has their homework done, etc. I believe that some parents need to be reminded that the ultimate responsibility for their child lies with them!  I notice that the same parents attend the PTO meetings and help with the school functions.  I think that is sad.  I work and I make time to do this stuff with my child. I know my 9 yr old daughter is proud that her mom makes time to attend things at her school.

I this is a great idea.  Parents need to be held accountable if they are not preparing their children for school, if they are not sending them to school, and if they are not communicating with their children's teachers regarding their children's performance. If parents are doing their job they should not have anything to hide. We should see this as a positive thing.

Julie Woestehoff is exactly what is wrong with the school systems. Parents should be held accountable, but she is right, every time parents are reprimanded they go on the offensive. Remember, school teachers are parents. Parents complain tht there is not enough being done in the schools about the drug problem, mention random search and see what happens. I have been reading about my home town of Mansfield, OH. The thugs have taken over the school, interview the parents of the trouble makers, the adminstration is at fault. The Lebanon,PA, approach seemed to be less intrusive, something has to be done, NOW!!!!

Yes, I do believe that parents should be graded.  Our society has been going at such a fast pace, that the children, our most precious responsibility, have been long suffering inadequate attention and guidance.  The school systems have done all they can, the parents, are dropping the ball with reguards to discipline and consistancy.

Grade the parents? Sure, but only if the parents can grade the teachers, the administrators, the school board, the school staff, the bus drivers, the coaches, etc.

Parents have to be held accountable for their children. Parent/Teacher conferences no longer work. Too many of the teachers don't even know who your child is or what their interests are. Its time for parents to become the teachers and not let only the teacher teach your children. Make homework an adventure, read with your children, take adventure-learning trips to bring history alive. Their should be an educator at school that helps parents learn skills that will work with children to make learning interesting. Grading parents is silly, teach parents how to help their children so that parents become partners in education.

I don't mind if the school grades my family on how well we prepare our children for school.  In fact, that's a great idea and right after they do that, maybe I could grade the school and each teacher on how well they are preparing my children for college.  I know I would certainly LOVE to grade some, make that all of the teachers.  That way the really great ones would know they are appreciated and the crummy ones could perhaps find another career as previously stated.

However, the point is that those parents who don't prepare their child, won't fill out or even read the report cards.  So this process wouldn't be effective unless there was some sort of consequence involved.

You know there was a time when parents were allowed to raise their children without the state/government making parenting decisions for us.  I'm not talking about abuse, because that should absolutely be stopped.  But when we invite others into our homes to make decisions/judgements for us, they won't always make, or due to protocols even be able to make, decisions that are in the best interest of our children or families.  For example, maybe a child comes to school without a coat because his family is unable to afford one and we as a COMMUNITY should help this family instead of standing in judgement of how much they care for their children and asking the government to handle the problem for us.

In my opinion, the less strangers are allowed to make family decisions for us, the better each family will be.  Perhaps we should handle more of these issues with caring and respect for others instead of standing in judgement of all those who are financially, religiously, or ethnically different than we are and intercede on a personal level instead of a judgemental one.

Any school system considering grading parents should also allow parents to anonymously grade the teachers and administration.  A one-way evaluation is unfair!  For example, When my Son was in High School, I had to be at work at 7:30, I got him up every morning, but there were some days when he had been up late doing 3-4 hours of homework he would be tired and go back to bed after I left.  I would call every 5 minutes to make sure he was up to leave for school on time. I did my best but many mornings he still was late.  I would make him sit at the table and work on homework everynight.  There were many times he chose not to turn it in to a teacher he did not get along with.  

I have substitute taught in schools and listened to teachers talking about their students' love lives, how to keep them together or get them to break up.  I have had to encourage my son's teachers to focus on behaviors that can be corrected instead of attitudes which cannot.

Teachers are not PERFECT in dealing with every child in their classes.  How then can they effectively grade that student's parents.  Conflict exists in any relationship.  Grading the parents will only make it worse.

Can you imagine?  Aren't our kids pressured enough?  The teachers/administration already pressure these kids if they do not score high enough on their exams.  Now, the kid will get double the pressure from the home front.  "If you don't do well in school, Mommy will get a bad grade"  How about we give these kids a break.

I am VERY involved in my daughters school.  I am even the Room mom for her class.  We are currently having an issue in OUR school that parents are NOT getting involved.  It's a simple concept....if a parent is involved than the child will be involved.  That only makes for better students and a overall better school.  And we all agree that without a good school basis then a child will not succed.  I have children in 3 different schools and there are times I am running a thousand miles an hour to get from this activity to that one, but when it comes down to it, it's for the child.  It is high time we as a society make sure that our kids can be kids, be involved in school, be perpared for school, and we are just parents.  If it means not going to a Yoga class or work-out, then make the sacrifice for your child.  You wanted to become a parent, now it's time we show it!

I think grading the parents is a cop-out.  The teachers' job is to teach and make sure the students learn.  This is a full-time job that they get paid to do.  Parents are forced to send their children to school and then taxed to paid for it.  Their children are then given homework that the students are unable to do, so the parents either do it for them or teach it to them.  All the while the parents have other full-time jobs that require their attention.  I think it's a shame that some teachers are so incompetent that they try to force the parent to teach the students and then get upset when the kids aren't learning anything.
In most professions if you do a poor job you are required to start looking for a new one, but teachers are able to cling to their jobs while blaming the parents for the poorly performing students.  Teachers need to be held accountable for teaching their students.  Most other professions also have obstacles in the way of achieving the job's objectives and most people adapt to overcome the obstacles instead of whining about them.  The greatest teachers I ever had were never the ones who complained about the obstacles in the classroom.

Grading parents, hmmmm, lets see now, lets grade the school. Now I am not against anything that is going to benefit our children, but belittling a parent that has to work 10 - 12 hours days just to survive and the schools knowing this, they schedule school functions (open house, parent-teacher conferences) at times that cannot be met, then heaven forbid that you call the school to schedule an appointment, principle, teacher and so on are never there. Now I am aware that we can take time off for this, but sometimes that is just not possible, my shift is from 8:30 am to 5:30 p.m. so by the time I am off work the functions have closed by the time I get there, so why don't they stay open maybe one hour longer? I go home every evening to my children and make sure homework is done, if not I help them with it! I talk to them about there day at school and so on!It is impossible to be what everyone wants you to be, so the best that I can be is a good parent who takes care of her children and works to support their needs. So grade us if you must, Not all of us work an 8 - 3 shift!

It's an interesting idea and I would love to see it put into action, at least as an experiment. Teachers are held accountable for children's success in school, and they are frequently stymied by children who come to school without breakfast, adequate clothing, incomplete homework or no homework, and obvious lack of sleep...things that are out of the teachers' control. Children are expected to all be successful (no child left behind) regardless of their abilities or disabilities, and the teacher is the one held accountable for their students' success...with the parents bearing no responsibility whatsoever. It seems reasonable for some discussion about this, and perhaps this idea may spark some dialogue.

I think that many people have forgotten that it takes a village to raise a child. Everyone should help to motivate student achievment.  The students who sit in my classroom today will be in the workforce and leading our country tomorrow.  

Retarded.  Parents have enough on their plate the way it is.  Dumbest thing I have ever heard.

I was a high school English teacher for 8 years and was often told I'd "understand" when I became a parent. Well, I am now a parent and I still don't "understand."

I don't understand how any parent can think teachers are not held accountable in a country which is now measuring the achievement of all educational goals on a state performance test, the results of which teachers are held entirely liable for.

It's high time someone held parents accountable. Teachers and parents are supposed to be partners. Parents always place the blame, the responsibility on teachers' shoulders, but no teacher can "un-do" in one measly hour a day what a parent has done/does in years preceding and hours concurrent.  

Parents and students should be grateful that they live in a country which guarantees a free public education to all. Education is seen as so much of a right, rather than a privilege, that parents and students alike have appointed themselves the employers of teachers and administrators. They ambush and attack them at school functions, berate them at PT conferences and undermine their authority by discussing their gripes against a particular teacher in front of their child.

For example, one parent who already posted here suggested that teachers work "8-3." I've never known a teacher who worked 8-3. I used to take home 2 hours of grading a night and spend Christmas "vacation" grading research papers. I also put in an extra 20 hours a week coaching...all to have some parent tell me he "paid" my salary.

Go ahead, grade my years as a teacher. You couldn't have lasted a week in my job.

This is the system that "progress" has given us. When I grew up there were (usually) two parents in the home. In a lot of school districts, who is going to get the grade?  There are no parents to grade.  This is closer to the problem.  If there are two parents in the home I'll bet there are fewer problems with the student.  The problem is deeper than another government sponsored Band-Aid (Grade the Parents) is going to cure.  Let's grade the Schools, the Government, the policies that got us here.

I think this is one of the best things I've heard in a long time!  I am a kindergarten teacher, and you would not believe how difficult it is to contact parents.  Either they won't come in for conferences, won't answer your phone calls, or they ignore your letters.  And some parents are trying...but there are more that are not.  Although my job is to teach your child to read and write, when you don't teach your child things that should be taught at home, it falls on me.  When you don't teach your child table manners, how to stop interrupting, or how to play nicely, I have to do it.  That is in addition to the academics that I am supposed to get in as well.  Not only am I supposed to teach them how to read, add, and to write in a year, but I am also supposed to add in the social and emotional skills they haven't learned in the last five years. (And all this when the child hasn't eaten breakfast/slept/had clean clothes/etc.-all the things I cannot control as a teacher, but have to handle every day.)

I think parents should be required to attend at least one parent conference a year, and attend at least one PTA meeting.  It is so important for parents to become involved at the beginning of a child's school career, and to keep that interest the whole way through.  Parents can learn invaluable suggestions and tips from their child's teacher on how to help their own child.  

I don't think anyone is suggesting we tell the parent's they are doing an awful job, I think that the importance is to inform parents that certain things they are doing are working,and what else they could do to help their child be successful.  Parents that tell me not call them about their child because they have two jobs and don't have the time should be told that this is not the way to treat your child's education! When a parent doesn't value education, neither will the child.  

The comments are interesting yet still do not address the issues at hand.  Our society is failing our children...I am a teacher and a parent.  Feel free to do my job, most could not handle it...and I am not talking about the curriculum.  I am talking about the child whose parent works so many hours trying to provide for them that the child feels neglected and will take any kind of attention that they can obtain, good or bad.  Or, the child trying to focus on school while their homelife falls about due to divorce, illness, unemployment or incarceration.  Or, the child who suffers from an illness that makes it difficult for them to function in the classroom...no I am not talking ADHD...I am speaking for the children who are diagnosed with a mental illness and are being serviced through a health system that depends on insurance and availability of programs.  Unfortunately, these are only some examples so now we have to look at the fact that our children for whatever reason are beginning their educational endeavors unprepared.  I welcome anyone to grade me as a teacher and a parent, this should not be a battle of who is failing whom, it should be a forum on how do we as a society say enough is enough and we as a society are going to stand up against our issues and fight...fight for our children and their right to their piece of the American Dream.

No I don't think we should be grading parents. What we need to grade is these political elected officials who come to the american people proclaiming they are going to ensure a proper education for all of america children and yet we have children in america not being educated, not being properly provided a quality education and not having books to be properly educated. We need to spend out time on issues that matter and that inmpact families not ciritizing them.

As a former teacher, I can remember the numerous phone calls to parents concerning both behavior and achievement with little or no results. I have even stood on a front porch of a parent, who never attended a conference nor could be reached by phone, trying to have a parent teacher conference. Even after the "porch" conference, the student remained truant and failed to do work. I also remember the parent, my academic team continually tried to contact, who only finally came to school to complain how I had detained her son during the beginning of his lunch period. Needless to say, I took the opportunity to have the much needed conference with, again, little or no results.

As for Matt's question about holding the same standard to the mother who works two jobs vs. the two parent family, why not? Don't we want both children to succeed? If the single parent mother does not have the time to help the child with their homework or see that it is complete, should there not be a responsible adult around taking care of the child that could be given this responsibility? Here again we, parents & educators, play the excuse game. Johnny can't do this or that because... or should Jane be expected to do that because.... Every year one of the local papers runs a story about students who have succeeded despite adversities such as one parent homes, etc. Making excuses only results in children being unprepared and/or failure.

We can make teachers and the education system jump through all kind of hoops, but until we make some parents and, yes, students themselves, more responsible I don't believe there will be a lot of success. If grading parents finally makes parents take on some of the responsibility for their child's education, so be it.

I'm a former teacher and now a parent.  As a teacher, I worked the long hours, went the distance for all of my students and thoroughly enjoyed working with them AND their parents.  Some parents saw the work I did and appreciated it, some took it for granted.  That is life.  But I had colleagues that I was ashamed of that never did anything extra for their students because "it wasn't in the contract" and were down right horrible teachers.  Unfortunately, those teachers are STILL teaching! Shameful! I'm afraid many children are being left behind.  

Now as a parent, my son is in the 4th grade and another is in Kindergarten.  Both of their teachers are lacking in personality, caring and sometimes I am beginning to think that they are lacking any common knowledge of teaching at their grade level.  I'm a dedicated parent and I belong to the PTA and volunteer and participate in most of the school functions.  Sadly, I can't say this about all of the parents, but even more devastating is that I can't say that about most of the teachers or school personnel.  We have had only one teacher that has shown the characteristics of a fantastic teacher.  It is ashame that my oldest has had only one!  It is very difficult to see and hear the behavior of teachers in my son's school on a daily basis.  I cringe! Sadly, my hands are tied. If I complain, then I am marked as a "trouble making parent", which in turn leads to a unfair treatment to my son.  It is a sad double standard!!  

So of course I say loudly and proudly, don't grade the parents.  Yes include them in the child's grading process.  Yes send notes, call, visit the homeplace, make a team that includes the teacher, principal, counselor, parents for each student and review what is working in that child's educational journey and what is not.  Teaching is a tough and thankless job, but you have to do whatever it takes.  Been there, done that.  That is what you have to do to make teaching successful.  It is hard work! If you didn't know that going into it, then you shouldn't have signed up for that responsibility.  If you say grade the parents, I say cop out--do your job!  If you say grade the parents, then how objective or subjective could you and the grading be?  Opinions would be mistaken for facts and then turned into a grade.  In a lot of small towns, (esp. where I taught), gripes and personal issues between the parents and the teachers could get in the way of fairness.  If you do grade parents, where would the grading stop and/or what exactly would you be grading? What would the punishment be for parental failure? Would the parents qualify for tenure too? Would you grade me on his dress, his physical and mental health and mine as well, (we would have a lot of parents and teachers not making the grade for sure!)?

It is great to read some of the teacher's comments on this forum.  Sadly, these examples of dedicated and caring teachers are a rare breed.  Good luck to them and I thank them.  I'm sure if a parent got to grade them as a teacher, they would pass with flying colors...or would they?  

Hi, I'm a parent from Australia, who is very into my children's education. (I am president of our parents club, on school council, have run uniform shop, helped in classrooms, canteen and on excursions, and am on the executive of Parents Victoria, a voluntary group who support parents of children in Government schools in the state of Victoria).  I have been interested to read all the posted comments - it seems things aren't too much different between the States and us when it comes to educating our children.  

I can see both sides of the argument, and I believe those people are right who say the parents who probably need grading and being told to come to interviews are the very ones who will never particpate in such a system.

I did spend a short time in Pennsylvania when my eldest son was in Elementary school, and I have nothing but the greatest respect and admiration for his class teacher and principal.  I have had similar experiences with teachers and principals in Australia, and I have also had to put up with some terrible teachers and administrators.  To those people I pass on the words of a fabulous principal I know "When you lose the passion - find another job".  So a big thank you to all the teachers (the majority) who do the right thing, and a message to the parents who aren't involved, and don't value teachers - educating is a partnership, so make sure you do your bit.  If you can't do it to help the school, then do it for your child.
Cheers.

I am amazed at how teachers go on the defensive when asked to be held accountable for how our children are being taught.  Yes there are standardized tests and other measures of our country's education.  However, the problem lies in the fact that when they are unacceptable, nothing is done to change the situation.  We simply form a "committee" to discuss why are children are struggling and others continue to fall between the cracks.  I absolutely think parents must be involved in their children's education for them to be successful.  When they come home, it should be a reinforcement of what is being taught at school.  Why is it that parents receive the blame when the children do not succeed?    What about those of us who give everything we have and spend countless hours trying to teach our children what they are not getting at school because teachers are unprepared or holding them back trying to teach children who are lagging behind.  And tell me this, why does my child have to spend an hour a day in the second grade learning Spanish?  Because this country has decided that we will place the needs of immigrants who refuse to learn our language above the needs of children born here who speak English.  I'm so tired of hearing teachers complaining about how hard they have it and how unsupportive the parents are.  Less time blaming the parents and more time put into true teaching would serve everyone well.

And what will be done with these "grades"?  Used for humiliation?  Did it ever occur to the creators of this ridiculous idea that parents, many of whom are trying the best they can to raise their children in the face of increasing financial pressures?  When was the last time any administrator or teacher ever really inquired about the details of their students' homelife/after schooltime?  Single parent homes, absent parents trying to work two or more jobs, alcoholism, domestic violence, minimal resources, lack of community supports for latchkey kids - these are burgeoning problems and pressures.   Even the most "involved" parents are dealing with little or no family connection time after a long hard day of work, daycare, etc., and an evening of low-quality, mind-deadening homework that increases in volume every year.   Do schools want to create a bridge between school and home or further sever any hope of coming together for the sake of our children?  And another thing - humiliation is neither a humane or effective tool for children either!  

I agree with Nicole Brush. My mother was a single parent and my teachers and the principal helped my mom with me. They had it where they would have PTC around my moms schedule. I went to bed every night at 8pm no matter what my moms schedule was. My brothers and great-relatives helps my mom out alot with me. My mother was there even if she wasn't there physically sometimes. My mother worked a full-time, part-time and was going to nursing school and still made time for me.
I do the same thing right now with my daughter. At my daughter's school we had to sign a promissory note stating that we would do 24 hours a year at the school, that included parent teacher conferences, volunteer work, classroom monitor, this is the schools requirement for when you enroll your child into that school. The parents are/and have to be completely involved in the school. All parents get a report of what went on that week. I believe the school district my daughter is in is superb including the teachers that's in it.

I think that this idea gets an "A" in theory but an "F" in practice. In some homes (ie homes with a lot of unwitting parental negligence, or homes where parents refuse to see their spawns shortcomings) this will help.

The unfortunate thing is that people like my parents will be penalized. My mom was the most involved Mom you've ever seen, cupcakes at every party, present at every extracurricular event. She drove me to piano lessons, helped with projects and homework. Later, my Dad drove me to PSEO classes in highschool. Both of my parents pushed me to excel and it is largely thanks to their efforts that I have an MBA at age 22.

However, my parents probably would have failed a parental grade card. I was always a socially awkward kid and in the American Public School System there is no place for a round peg in their tiny world of square holes. Although I made good grades, graduated 7th in my high school class and completed an associate's diploma my junior year of high school, I was chonically unpopular and a very unhappy student. Ironically, I'm very socially aware, well adjusted and happy as an adult, a change that took place only after I got away from the negative influences that I was exposed to as a result of the public school system.

To AJ,

I understand how teachers being so defensive and gripey all the time can get annoying. I left teaching after those 8 years specifically because I felt I was angry all the time and didn't want to be that person.

Here's something many parents don't know about those tests, at least in Colorado, where we administer the CSAP: students often do not take the tests seriously. I have seen tests (when picking them up) in which students literally wrote "I don't care" on an essay section, or wrote an entire essay on drugs, partying, sex, etc. that didn't address the essay question at all.

What's most frustrating is that in CO, we can do NOTHING about these answers. We are not allowed to encourage kids to write more, discipline them for their disrespectful answers, anything. It's especially aggravating when the student could get a remarkable writing score, but refuses to out of apathy. How is that student's score representative of what the teacher has taught him/her?

I think the most clear thing here is that the biggest problem in our public education system is the relationship between parents and teachers. Poor teachers should suffer consequences, and be fired if necessary. However, poor parents must also face consequences. Maybe "grading" is the wrong term.

Just as parents who are frustrated with a teacher can schedule a meeting with the teacher to voice their concerns and then, if necessary, go on up the chain of command, (principal, superintendent, then school board), so too should teachers have a better avenue for voicing their frustrations (and somehow effecting ACTION) regarding parents who don't support mandatory state testing, school discipline and classroom mgt. and who are negelcting their children.

I cannot say that I ever got angry at anyone but myself when a parents respectfully voiced a concern about something I was doing. Unfortunately, you never meet many parents at all until they are jumping down your throat in front of 300 people at a basketball game.

Unfortunately, the current situation is doing nothing but driving a greater wedge between parents and teachers, and encouraging more GOOD teachers to look for greener pastures.

Over-crowded classrooms,lack of cultural sensitivity, teaching to standardized test.  These are some dynamics of Connecticut schools.  The number of parents engaging in school functions would increase if a parent, regardless of ethnicity or socio-economics, would be made to feel apart of the educational process.  The powers to be make the decision for parents, without parental input, and then ask parents to conform, without regard to children's environment/community,culture or value system.  If school officals took the time to understand that Connecticut classrooms are diverse, and then took the time to understand what that means, then maybe Connecticut, a very wealthy state, would not be so quick in passing the blame , but taking some  responsibility for its educational short comings and work with parents to become partners in our children's educations and not pit the rich against the poor. Connecticut achievement gaps ranks very low in the nation.  Is that just the parents fault!  

Start with the notion that - no matter what we do or have done or will do - we all fail as parents regularly, particularly with regard to schooling our kids.  Just assess yourself honestly and take an approach that you will work on it as long as your children are with you.  Be mindful of the fact that we have already failed as a nation to protect our children in schools; there is not one school in this country that is safe from threats, such as a terrorist attack; anybody can exploit our open society (and the open doors in our schools).  With these things in mind, figure out a plan to do something about it; decide how you want to educate your children and protect them at the same time.  Why wait for the public education system and fanatical religious extremist terrorists to decide what happens to your child?  Grade yourself on that.  We did it and decided to take care of it ourselves: Now, we know exactly what our children are being taught and we have them in our direct sight all day, every day, safely under our protection.

I think it is a good idea.I would like to know how I am doing as a parent.I know you have all these parents up-in-arms about it,but if they are doing their job at home as a parent, they should not be worried about it.It is good in making the progress in the parent ,teacher releationship.

I think grading parents is ABSOLUTELY ridiculous!

I am not sure how to feel about this. First of all It is the teachers job for 8 hours to teach my child, and I am responsible to do homework and make sure they study and understand. But there is a problem which I myself experienced first hand. If a child has a teacher that is how should I put this, a less than exceptable teacher, then the child does not learn from them, and how am I going to be graded when they may not possibly be doing their job to the fullest. I think if parents get graded we should also be allowed to grade the teachers. These individuals get paid to do a job, and some, I am not saying all teachers, should have their salary cut back if my child or your child does poorly in school due to lack of instruction from a particular teacher and there is a trend with this instructor. I should not possibly be expected to teach my child chemistry, physics, etc if they don't learn from the teacher. I should not get a bad grade because the teacher does a bad job.

Again .... teach them yourself, then grade yourself and your kids.  You'll be surprised at what you both (parent/child) can achieve.  Forget about relying on public schools; the teachers in our district (one of the most wealthy and supposedly 'academically gifted' counties in the nation - like, right near the nation's capitol) are forced to teach to the lowest common denominator in way-overcroweded and unsafe classrooms.  My 4th grade son came home last year completely bored to tears, maybe spoke to his teacher three times the entire year - she was way too busy with the 1/3 of the students who can't speak english and can't read or write - in 4th grade. He got straight "O" (outstanding) grades and the highest SOL scores possible in his school.  And we knew for a fact that he wasn't working hard or to his potential; sure he did all his homework and went above and beyond requirements for his grade, but nobody cared.  Nobody even gave that kid a second look, same with a bunch of his friends.  Its not the teacher's fault either; they are just strapped with conditions listed above and a bunch of lazy, dolt parents that don't care and a school system that refuses to protect them from outside threats (yeah ... like terrorists).  And this is the generation of kids that will be hitting the workforce in less than 10 years.  Think our country can benefit from that?  No way.  Bottom line:  Order yourself a top-notch home school program and really help your kids learn their butts off.  In the process, you'll be surprised what you have forgotten and thought you learned or knew.  We just aren't that smart as parents (at least in our case - and we both have several advanced degrees). I'm not saying homeschooling is for everyone, but unless you've got some rich grandmother somewhere who can help you pay for private school (NOT!), then you are far better off with one of you dropping your day job and staying home to do the teaching.  In our case, I picked up a second consulting job just so my wife could stay home and teach my 3rd and 5th grader, something she has always wanted to do and she deserves that chance, and I am fortunate that she wanted to do it (BTW, she taught K-12 in our school system for several years).  It was the best decision we ever made.  Every day that I come home now, no matter how bad work is, I get to see how happy and safe my kids are. They are working way harder than I have ever seen them and they are not wasting time standing in the lunch or recess line and they are not bringing home stupid 'coloring book' work. My advice is for people to take responsibility for their kids education and do it in a way that works for all of you. We wish we had done this earlier. Just my $.02

To homeschooling dad. Excellent points.  We must be in the same school district.  Grade parents?  I also want to grade the school administration and teachers.  My child's elementary teachers were top notch.  Hit middle school and everything went spectacularly wrong.  This middle school has a few wonderful teachers and some teachers that have potential.  However, they operate under an administration that's corrupt and a principal who appears to have shady principles.  One particular teacher doesn't return phone calls nor answer emails etc.  When attending a conference I ask to see my child's grades, teacher mumbles something about not having it. I have a job that I took time off of to meet with them and they come unprepared.  Didn't happen once or twice but each time I met with the teacher.  Can a teacher on this forum explain this behavior to me?  The principal says he will help but doesn't.   1st quarter in this class they say my child isn't doing well on quizzes and tests.  I ask to see the quizzes and tests and hire a tutor.  Tutor says child knows the information and also asks to see the failed quizzes/tests.  Never received those failed quizzes.  Finally, they sent home ONE graded test(answer sheet but no questions).  How does this help?  Asked for the questions and was told a lie as to why I couldn't have the questions.  This principal will lie while looking me straight in my eyes.  We had issues with this school last year.  Action was taken and I fear this is retaliation.  I hate to think this is the case but I have no other explanation for such behavior.  I know this teacher has 39-40 children in the class.  All I have is the one.  So give me all the information so I can help that one.  That's all I want and they dole out the information only when forced by higher ups.  I send my child to school well prepared and well behaved.   As an involved parent I am very disheartened by the actions of these "educators".  

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