In short, the performance crisis is real, and the schools must accept their share of the blame. Of course not. Likewise, parents are responsible for Johnny's education. This doesn't mean every parent must become a home-schooler, any more than every parent must become a farmer, a grocer, or a restaurateur. It simply means that, whether Johnny goes to a public, private, or home school, his parents are duty-bound to superintend his education.
Nature declares in no uncertain terms that children belong to parents.
If Johnny is barely literate in the ninth grade, the school system certainly has a lot of explaining to do. We've seen it in the third-generation welfare mom, or in the retiree living from Social Security paycheck to paycheck. But often we're slow to recognize our own abdication of responsibility where education is concerned. Yes, the schools are gobbling up our hard-earned money and often giving us a meager return on investment. But this doesn't relieve parents of their duty.