I see it differently.
The way I see it is that the public education system is an abysmal failure not because of lack of parental involvement, but because it is an abysmal failure inherently, and the only reason it is not universally an abysmal failure is because of parental involvement.
The product is broken, it doesn't work.
I think you and I are talking about two distinct groups of parents. There is no question that, to the degree parents are involved, there is a measure of success. The students that I have who are motivated, self-monitoring, industrious when it comes to their learning all have involved, concerned parents. The majority of students in the school where I work, however, do not have such parents. And it is this group that, by and large, abdicate some, most, all (depending on the parent) responsibility when it comes to their children’s learning.
Some of these parents are beyond help. Some of them need a kick in the back-side. Some of these parents need a break. Some of these parents feel trapped and helpless. All of these parents live in/near the neighborhoods where we (you and I and all other Freepers) live. And, they all send their kids to public schools. What to do?
They don’t have the homeschool option (through their own bad choices, lack of knowledge, lack of will—for whatever reason) and they avail themselves of the public school system which, we all know, is doing them no great service. What to do?
Their kids’ learning is diminishing more and more with each passing year. Basic skills are jettisoned in exchange for advanced socialization. They are on the fast track headed toward a lifetime of dependency, misery, poverty. Their limitations will guarantee that they will never be able to function in a society that requires functionality. Eventually, candidates will come along to grant them victimization status/an endless menu of hand-outs (oops—this is already happening). What to do?
At some point, these under-educated masses will comprise the majority (or a near-majority) of our population. Our government apparatus will have to increase to meet the demands of the resulting burgeoning need. The flight from these areas will increase, the degradation of these areas will increase in direct proportion. Cities and large towns will die (lack of skilled workers, too much need, too many taxes). Oops, again. Already happening. What to do?
At some point, we’ll all be asking (somewhere just before the final great collapse), “What could we have done?”