Read this interesting article for a close-up look at what is happening inside schools today.

So many parents just are not aware of the shaky ground that schools and their methods of instruction are standing on and using as absolute truth. I was one of those parents. I assumed that since school administrators and teachers had degrees, some of them advanced, they must know what they are talking about. How wrong I was. It does not take much research to find out the sorry state of schools of education. The "hot" theory today, after millions of dollars is spent implementing it, becomes tomorrow's mistake. What sounds theoretically sound and worked in one school is passed off as doctrine only to get changed when once again, the (fill-in-the-blank) plan that was going to save the schools was found to be lacking.

From banning red pens, to deleting kickball and recess, schools have become more ridiculous than ever. How much learning is going on in the average school? Not much if you are not a self-starter whose learning style meshes with that of the system.

Parents need to take a much more active role in keeping abreast of education policies and politics. Even if a family is unwilling to homeschool, the parents should take long periods of time devoting themselves to understand the origin and history of schools, the current roles of schools in our society today and whether or not schools are accomplishing what they have set out to accomplish.

It amazes me how much time parents will take to research their favorite sports team or reality TV star or what type of digital TV they will buy. But when it comes to their child's education, many suddenly grow silent and weak. Parents must change before the schools will change. There can be no other way.