Raising the Bar: How Parents Can Fix Education

Dan Akst penned an inspired article for last Friday's edition of the Wall Street Journal. I don't know that we're ready to give up Hannah Montana and Guitar Hero just yet, but the advice here resonated strongly. Straight to the point...

More than budgets or bureaucrats, more than textbooks or teachers, parents are the reason that kids perform as they do in school. That's not to take anything away from the support our teachers and schools are providing, and our teachers here are the first ones to raise the same flags Mr. Akst is waving. Nay-sayers not withstanding, this article hits the nail on the head. There's only so much a teacher in a classroom with 20 kids can get accomplished, and these days a one-on-one homework hour with your child is more than just an opportunity... It's a necessity.