The parents with courage, intelligence and love for their children have all gone to private schools, Christian schools or homeschooling. Many of them are veterans of "school wars" where they were stomped into the ground when they suggested that parents should have something to say about their own children's education.
Public schools are government schools, run by bureaucrats. Your child's teacher might be your next door neighbor and a nice person, but she doesn't have autonomy in her own classroom.
Who has influence in our schools? Teachers unions, state and federal agencies, education professors and giant textbook companies. All of these people make MONEY from producing a bad product.
ping