With schools relying more and more on Federal money it is an uphill battle.

They obviously saw readily enough when it affected them directly.

Well said.

I think that parents need to start getting involved in kids` classrooms, while simultaneously petitioning and lobbying for higher education standards. I choose to volunteer three days a week in my son`s classroom. We have become a society that, rather than revere the best and the brightest, we cater to the the most mentally infirm...and we simply increase the breeding ground conditions for more behaviorally challenged, learning disabled children who are gradually on their way to outnumbering the able learners. I wish that more parents would take responsibility for their own children with such issues. If my child proves to be behaviorally challenged or in some way incompatible for classroom learning, I will simply pull him out and homeschool him rather than ruin the educations of the other kids.

Alternatively, there are other education programs that allow children to advance at their own pace, regardless of grade. Montessori is one such program. There is no reason why Montessori cannot be infused into public education. Where I live, in Vernon, B.C., this has been done successfully. Specialized programs within the public school curriculum (if you cannot afford private school) is the way to go-- because they are less tainted by unconscientious enrollment.