Watch This! Then say, "Ouch."

This is kind of painful to watch but it's spot-on. Take a look at the video.
Then, look at the facts page too. Read the whole thing, it's all really good.
And let me say, this is a good time to acknowledge - again - the efforts of great public school teachers to take what they've got to work with and make something of it - year after year.
Send this to everyone you know.
This is why I am teaching.
And as an independent teacher, I work in lots of different settings - and see the synapses fire off in all kinds of kids. Not just the stereotypical "artsy" ones, but all of them. Different ages, different abilities, different personalities.
The best education teaches kids how to learn. THAT is what you take with you.