When the Govt. holds the Students & the parents responsible for their own damn pitfalls, well then we'll be on the right track. Blaming the teachers for failing students when the sorry @ss kids don't come to school or if they do their drunk or stoned is assinine. That's like blaming the soldiers for being over in Iraq, they didn't ask to go they were made to go.
As a former teacher, I agree 100% with your sentiments that students and parents must be held
responsible. Home is the key to education, whether education takes place in the home itself
(i.e, homeschooling) or in a public, private, or religious institution.
Unfortunately, many parents don't realize this and/or won't accept the responsibility.