When are we going to take responsiblity?

I am a proud product of the Detroit Public School System. I graduated from one of the top schools in the city and I tell anyone who asks me that I truly believe in public education. My mother was a public school teacher and I believe in what public schools bring to a community.

In recent years there have been many problems in DPS as well as other urban school systems. In Detroit, there has been serious mismanagement, graduation rates are at a low (compared to other systems in the area) and people are taking their children out of the schools.

The first people that get the blame are the teachers. I've heard the stories every system I've been in except for one: they don't teach, they can't control the classes, they don't like my child, etc, etc, etc.

But there is one group that city officials, government, media and the swoon of others that have yet to bear a large of part of the responsibility of how kids do in school: the parent/guardian!
When did we suddenly say that parents/guardians, no matter what the situation is, have no responsibility on how their child functions in school?

This is a major problem for me as a teacher. I cannot control what goes on outside of my class, but yet and still I have become responsible for how the effects of that outside environment delegate into my classroom. Education has become a disrespected entity in our society and this is a major reason why our schools, whether urban or suburban, are failing in some way.

We have to change the shift in our thinking about education. Look at what we are bringing in as well as what we are putting out. Remove ourselves from thinking that a letter grade lets me know the intelligence of a student. What does an "A" really mean? Can that student apply the knowledge outside of a multiple choice test?

Its very frustrating as a teacher sometimes, and I know that I am not the only one who feels this way. I have had numerous conversations with people about this and I get all types of feedback. Maybe one day we will change the thinking but it is going to take a lot of effort that cannot be found in a classroom.