Parents... Most of the buck stops there. The government must ensure that the schools are teaching the children to an appropriate level, the schools themselves must make sure they are teaching the kids to an appropriate level. So must the parents - ultimately though, if the education is not up to par, it is the parents' responsibility to move that child, or find supplemental education. Whether by the parent or a tutor. Education begins in the home, and even when the children hit school, it must be continued in the home also. We are too inclined to pass some of the blame on to institutions in this society.

well, everyone's. it's the parents fault for not pressuring the kids to do better. and to let them drop out ? . it's society's fault for making this situation socially acceptable. it's the school system's fault for tagging any kid that's a bit slow as "special needs", thus giving him an excuse no to try harder. . and it the government's fault for not looking over the shoulder of the school system to make sure the next generation isn't illiterate. not to mention their underfunding. . but mostly, it's the kid's fault for being an idiot. it's the parents fault for him being fine with it.

All put together! It's the parents job to help support the children in learning such as with homework and so on! It is suppose to be the schools job to take note of potentual learning issues that may need to be addressed but quite often that doesnt happen so again it falls to the parent to request testing... Now they dont want to spend the money on testing so you may have to fight with them! Some school especially private really want to fight this because they do not want special needs children. Have high scores give them top dollars! The government has made lots of promises to support puplic schools and has not withheld them! Teachers are not paid enough and the funds are being waisted on new curriculums that cost millions then tossed aside.... Bottom line parents need to be the back bone and supoort and do what it takes to get your child on the right track where education is involved!

ultimately, it is the parents responsibility to raise their kids in such a way that they can be a positively contributing member of society. if parents were to start reading to their children from very early on and create a love for reading in their children...and be patient enough to let their children read to them, they would be much better readers...but many parents can't read...one cannot be a good reader without LOTS and LOTS of practice. but honestly, kids drop out for many reasons...financial, social, homeless, etc...not just because they can't read.

Parents are one issue. My parents started teaching me before I was old enough to go to school. Then, I got to school, and I had to waste a few years of my life while everyone else learned simple addition, and the alphabet. I think kids should know these things before they set foot in a classroom. Then, I think there are issues with the schooling system. I was in the 9th grade, and multiple people in my class could not read. Teachers knew this from the start, but they did not hold them back a grade for fear of 'damaging their self esteem'. Most of those kids dropped out. School was too difficult and embarrassing for them. If the school had corrected the problem and held the kids back, they probably would have finished high school. I don't blame the teachers too much. Sure, there are bad teachers here and there, but most of them are trying to do the right thing, but are hindered by the school system. Several teachers wanted to hold kids back a grade, but were barred from doing so by the school. The teachers were put in charge of ridiculously large groups of children and expected to teach them, and they were barred from helping and comforting students in certain situations, for fear of child-abuse allegations from over-protective parents.

I would definitely put the blame on the parents. It's sad to say but society gets lazy when raising their children. They drop them off at school like it was a baby sitting service instead of a place to nourish their minds and to shape them intellectually for their future lives.

I'd say the school system and the teachers. What if the parents are illiterate? you can't expect all of them to be educated parents. This has been a major problem in India where education is only now catching up good and fast among the present young generation while the previous generation of parents are still illiterate - and obviously can't improve now by going to school! In that case, its the responsibility of the schools and teachers in bringing up a kid. that why they say school is a second home? If teachers blame the parents for not helping, what else are they being paid for? Well the family can only give moral support and encouragement to their child. As far as government is concerned, they can only lay all good plans, schemes, funds etc. But teachers are the real interface with the kids and only they can really influence the final result.

It's the parents' responsibility to make sure their children receive the training and education they need. It certainly starts at home ... PLUS parents need to be very involved in their children's education at school. If they feel they're not receiving quality instruction, parents need to speak up and work with the schools to make sure that is fixed.

Humans put blame on things. That is what is to blame. Perhaps its differnt with each individual, but I grew up with no insentive to do well in school, I could blame that alone and probably win the understanding of alot of people if I used that to blame my bad educational background. Guess what. I didn't because it just wasn't necessary to blame anyone, because I liked school and worked at it all by myself. I have myself to blame that I graduated high school at 16 and two year college, well two years later.....

I am going to go ahead to put a piece of blame of each of those. Its a parents job to set the foundation for learning. Its the teachers job because they are suppose to be teaching. The school system because they need to be making sure that these children are learning what needs to be learned. The government for not giving enough funding to the school. Instead of educating youth the chose to spend money on other things. Which is more important your present or future? Then I blame society because I see they are losing the value of an education. So I really just see it as a domino effect. But ultimately the parent should be actively involved in the child's life laying the foundation, and checking to make sure the child is learning what is needed.

All of the above. Society, for not having enough of a "system" built around keeping up the faith of school and showing that you can make it without school. The government for not locking down laws on dropping out or reading scores. Why is it that the poor schools dont get the funding they need, but schools with GREAT scholars do??!?!? The teachers, well because just like in any job there are lackluster performers. I believe you must LOVE what you do, and this is one area that needs it most, next to healthcare. People are depending on you for guidance and you are sub par on your performance, it will reflect!! School systems falls in line with the government, due to the fact that they get their funds, staff, material based on what the government says. I believe they should all be separate entities, but then again, what if you have a shitty executive body....may end up being a shitty school. And yes, parents are at fault as well. They should buckle down and keep their kids from FAILING at things like reading. However, some parents can't read, so the ripple effect is being done there. We all know the parents wont go back to school..not because some DONT want to, they just cant. This day in age...it is all about work and who has extra time to learn to read AND then help their own kids?!?!?! I say make the time from all facets and consume every last resource to keep ALL kids of ALL neighborhoods from failing at the most BASIC aspect of life....reading.

Out of all the choices I would go with the parents. Ultimatley the parent is responsible for ensuring that they know what is going on with their child's education. Many parents sacrafice and enroll their children in after school programs to help with improving reading and many are FREE! I only say sacrafice because after the parent gets off of work is when they spend a number of hours trying to get help for their child. More teachers and schools than not make sure they let parents know where their child is prior to report card time. Many parents simply do not care and the child in response don't care. The government provides the same general public education to all children. Now if the area where it is provided is not desirable then I cant see how it's governmentt's fault. Government cannot and will not police everything. Permits to other schools that would require maybe a bus ride is an option to alleviate undesirable school districts. As a parent it would be really irresponsible to think that questions do not need to be asked of your child and or teacher to determine your child's progress. If the progress is poor then either the parent needs to try and educate more themselves, have the child enrolled in a program to give extra help or have a determination made on if their child is capable of learning what is being taught in public schools. Doing nothing by just sending your kid to school and saying it is what teachers are for is acting blind.

Mothers who prevent the fathers of their children from seeing them, are responsible for a lot of the issues that children face. They CHOOSE to have kids with these men, then prevent them from being a part of their life, taking away a role model, a protector, and a mentor, leaving the kids feeling lost, thinking there's no point in going to school. The schools can't really do much about this, they can only teach who turns up, and undisciplined children are far more likely to play truant than anyone else, or fatherless children as their known. A child who is prevented from seeing their father is more likely to end up in a gang, play truant from school, do hard drugs, end up in prison, end up homeless, and end up illiterate, which just goes to show that mums aren't as well equipped to raise children as they're constantly told they are by the likes of Oprah and Cosmopolitan. What's that I see in the distance? Why it's the "Mother issues" bus, that usually shows up once anyone mentions that mothers aren't angels who do nothing wrong.

I believe this: The parents have the most impact. They absolutely need to incentivate their children to learn. They need to support their children to better than they have done themselves. Bottom line, they need to care about their children. Society may have the next greatest impact. Societal pressures can dictate what the government, teachers and school system does and what the school system can and cannot do. Societal pressures also restrict the funding so only the "high priorities" are funded, by not voting for tax increases when they are needed. Government has a hand in influencing society. Politicians lack of presenting the information, lack of leading, just to get elected again... School systems lack of pushing to provide quality at the level needed for all students. Also, giving in to religious views that contradict fact. Teachers are perhaps the least to blame since they have to play the cards that they're dealt. However, they too can inspire and motivate their students to achieve better results.

Some of each. Parents have to prepare the kids before 1st grade by reading to them regularly (I started with my daughter at about age 1) and feeding their growing intellectual curiosity. Though it's much harder, it's still possible even in a single parent house. In school, parents have to have the discipline to limit kids' non-reading entertainment like TV and computer games. Email looking stuff up online are counted differently than games. Schools should not promote students who are unprepared for the next grade - that counts for all subjects. I also think that the goal of 2nd language teaching in the US should be to get them up to level in English ASAP and not supporting their 1st language. And proper English should be taught - no Ebonics or other non-standard variants (these could be interesting electives once the basics are mastered). And finally, government needs to provide funding for schools appropriately. So I think there is responsability to go round, but it all starts at home. If the parents don't do their part, the rest can be perfect and have little effect. Yet, if the parents do their bit right, even imperfect schools can get the kids far. +5

The parents. The parents need to be monitoring what their kids are learning in school. If there is a problem with the teacher, it is the parent's responsibility to do something about it.

Parents, school systems/government, society. In that order.

parents have primary responsibility for motivating their children. educators are responsible for giving them access to education, the kids must be willing to take it.

I was reading at college level in the 4th grade. I attribute that to the NY school system. My mother moved me down here to Hicksville USA during a crucial time in my learning... and I can't grasp the concept of Math. I blame the Florida school system for that. Although from what I have seen with my own kids so far, if I couldn't read early anyway... I probably would have come out of here illiterate too, not just bad at math.

I blame them all. Each element you have named shares at least some of the rssponsibility of the dumbing down of our kids. Society is to blame because they make being uneducated look cool. Books movies tv shows even popular music glorifies being uneducated. They make the thug life look cool and popular so of course kids are gonna think why should I bust my ass to get an education and work hard for what I want when I can become a big rap star or a great basketball player and don't have to put much effort into getting an education to do it. Teachers are to blame because unfortunately there are some who just don't give a shit if the kids learn or not. They just show up for a paycheck and if anything they say reaches one or two kids they consider themselves lucky and at the end of the day they think they did what they were supposed to to earn their check. School systems are to blame because they do an extremely poor job at managing the limited resources they have to effectively reach the largest amount of kids in their system. The government is too blame because instead of focusing on education they would rather focus on providing free abortions to people too lazy or too selfish to use birth control to ensure that they don't end up with an unwanted pregnancy instead of providing computers and other needed resources to help our kids be competetive with other schoolkids around the world. Parents are to blame becaus ethe last thing they want to do after coming hom from work is deal with their kids homework so they pretend to scan over it to make themselves feel good knowing full well they don't have a clue as to what it is they are looking at.