All of this is true, but there is one bigger problem. It starts with students who have no desire or motivation to learn and no parent or parents who seem to care either,
Well, maybe students think that they are wasting their time trying to learn inane math programs and dolch words. Maybe they know that they are being taken for a ride, and there is nothing they can do about it because the state says they have to be there regardless of whether they learn anything or not.
Maybe the parents feel the same way too. Maybe students and parents should have more choice.
The problem is multigenerational. The parents were indoctrinated by the government schools.