I agree that it's shocking what kids don't know. But as a veteran teacher I bridal at "Schools should..." Do parents have a roll in their kids education?

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I'd venture a guess that children who can't answer those basic questions have never been consistently read to by their parents. Dinner is probably eaten in front of the TV. Forget about talking to your kids at the dinner table.

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My wife taught kindergarten for 34 years. Her general observation is that children today are much less ready to enter school than ever before. More and more kids have never been read to. More and more lack any number sense that's developed through board games. From hours of TV and video games kids have extremely short attention spans. At age five they are already addicted to the fast-paced instant gratification of the barrage if visual images presented by TV and video games.

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Watch any show on TV. Count how many times the camera angle changes to hold your attention. You really have to concentrate because are minds are so accustomed to it. It's a tough act to follow. Now contrast that with a classroom. One teacher with a white board and maybe some sort of computer projection set-up to engage 20 to 30 students.