Thank you, frankiereece... I especially agree with the parts about parents not valuing education. I teach 7th grade Civics (& 8th grad Am.History) and cannot tell you how many times at orientation that a parent will look at their child and say "Argh Civics, the most boring and useless class you'll ever take. I hated it." Well, gee thanks Mom & Dad... how do you expect me to succeed in getting your child exciting about our democratic process? {sigh} Luckily for me, with NCLB, social studies is not an important subject so in Missouri it is no longer tested (yes, my sarcasm is showing.)

In my building we are required to contact each parent at least once per quarter, and once per week if the child is failing the class. I've actually had parents tell me to stop calling and "bothering" them because there is nothing they can do about their child's grade. Hello? I am the mom of a 16 year old and you bet that his math teacher knows me VERY well (much to my son's chagrin!) Parents, get involved, we teachers cannot do it alone!