<font color="blue">I think the system has 'dumbed down' the education to the least common denominator, so that nearly everyone can be 'successful' and pass school. This helps the kids on the low end and hurts everyone else. It leaves the abstract thinkers and gifted/talented students out in the cold. School boards think too much about politics and not enough about education. And organizations like the NEA don't care a **** about education, they are just another labor union, more interested in keeping their jobs.
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Exactly right Rozett.

<font color="blue"> I think it does have a lot to do with the abdication by parents. Some of these kids in high school (where I sub every day) have horrible manners, are extremely disrespectful to others, and think mostly of themselves. </font color>

I do agree with you that parents are somewhat responsible for this. I also believe and have seen and experienced that jr. high and high school are probably more to blame for bad behavior in kids than the parents in alot of cases. I know alot of the bad stuff I learned didn't come from home it came from school. To be cool and fit in you had to do alot of the bad stuff. At home I got it good if I tryed that crap. Same thing I see with alot of kids who are patients. I personally know their parents and their home life. The behavior I see when I'm at the school does not happen at their homes. It was also the final straw in determining to home school our girls. My oldest started all the popularity wars and everyday more time was spent on who liked who that day, who was no longer friends, lying to each other, gossiping, hurting feelings, making fun of others, etc than the school work. That stuff did not and has never gone on in our house. Since we started home schooling I have my daughter back again and not the "person" school was teaching her to be.