Money isn't everything, but it sure helps. part 2

The step for parents, is to be involved. Know your children's teacher. Know the principle. Look at the books. Help them with homework. Help them to read. Provide an environment at home that drives the educational process and promotes learning. Support the student and the teachers in every way. This is how we can start the process to better educated citizens of the world. I saw this morning where a state legislator in Texas promoted the idea that teachers give grades to parents to evaluate their participation in education. People may not like the grade, however it could serve as a wake-up call to parents that are not giving any attention to their children's development. They would have to answer for their irresponsibility. Another way is to look at our antiquated system of summers off. This dates back to times when the kids were needed at home to work the farms during the busy summer months. Let's see, when was the last time I spent my summer tending to crops on the back forty. When children are off for this long they loose a certain amount of information and the teachers have to go back and review material from the previous year to get caught up. When schools have tried to change this, parents become enraged at the prospect of changing their summer vacations. Which is more important two to three months of vacation or our children's education. There would still be periods of time available for vacations, just not a continuous three months.