This is a great post, thank you. I'm one of those engaged parents, and I hear this from teachers all the time (public school). Most parents simply don't give a crap about their child's education anymore. However, as a parent, I have seen a drastic change occur while my kids have been in school (currently 2 HS Freshmen, and 1 HS Junior).

1: The amount of homework sent home has been reduced to ZERO. Everything is done in class these days and put in a binder that I never get to see except at P/T conferences. Aside from rare special projects, I don't get to see what my kids are doing in school regularly, and I hate that. Looking up their grades online doesn't count for me.

2: Fuck Common Core math. Seriously. Right in the ass. Whoever came up with that crap needs to be tarred and feathered, hung at sunset, then burned at the stake, drawn and quartered. I don't have time to teach myself "new math" so that I can help my kid who struggles with it.

3: State testing is to measure teacher success, not the students. Seems like every other month, they're taking some BS required benchmark test that has nothing to do with education, but government money. It's stressful and unnecessary.

I'm fortunate enough to live in a rural area where the public education system hasn't taken as big a nosedive as it has in other areas of the country. Still, I often hear stories of what goes on in class and what's being taught, and none of it would've flown when I was in school...and I'm not that old. Some teachers are bad, no doubt. But I've only ever met one teacher who was absolutely worthless, so I don't blame them. The system is broken, or at best, flawed and needs improvement. Judging by all the hand-holding politically correct bullshit that I read in the "real world" on a daily basis, I can only imagine what it's like in school. Personally, the voucher program is the best solution I've heard.