[Coda]

Oh, I forgot the other thing I was going to complain about: "no child left behind". The law is (basically) good (with a few issues, nothing's perfect), but too many school districts implement it COMPLETELY wrong. Not leaving kids behind is supposed to mean that students get help when they need it. Refusing to fail a kid means they're NOT getting that help; they're getting progressively pushed into harder and harder stuff that they're just not prepared to deal with. Refusing to give kids bad grades ONLY to avoid having to report failures to the government is CHEATING the law. If students are failing, that means that the SCHOOLS aren't doing a good enough job of teaching, of enforcing discipline, and of being sensitive to the individualized needs of students. Of course, school districts that are slashing budgets aren't going to be able to retain good teachers or handle individual students.