I couldn't agree more. Let me guess though, you are a teacher (or spouse of a teacher)?

Our kids went through ASD and were sent home with hours of homework after watching cartoon videos in class. Teachers today seem to want to be the kids' friend, not their teacher, and expect parents to fill that role. Every day has to be something fun for the kids. I must have been out sick on the fun days when I was in school--I don't remember any. While I am well educated, my training and expertise is not in teaching--so expecting me to teach my children is not ideal (not to mention we are already paying someone else to do that). A parent's role is to support and encourage kids, not provide the primary education.

Solution? Pay teachers a competitive salary with incentives and GET RID OF TENURE! Very few jobs that I am aware of guarantee employees a job regardless of their performance. As with all employees, you get what you expect out of them--in this case, someone that will show up.