This series of articles on education reminds me of how embarrassed I am of my own generation sometimes. There are those of us who would rather pay someone than to get our hands dirty with our kids. We would rather plop them in front of a tv screen in the back seat rather than have a conversation or sing silly songs. We would rather pay to put our kids into a private school than to actually get involved with our kids' education.

Both of our kids went through the public school system in Los Angeles and are doing just fine thank you. Our daughter graduated from one of the best small liberal arts schools in the country and is currently in her second year of a Masters program. Our son got his BFA in graphic design from one of the best art schools in the world. Hell, he even works for this magazine so he must have done okay!

They did well because we were involved with their education. We both had full time jobs but we made the time because it was important to us. If it's not important to the parents, then it won't be important to the kid. And if that happens, no school in the world will be able to fix it, no matter how much money you throw at it.