^And the ultimate cause is an anti-intellectualism on the part of parents that sees a diploma as a passport to the middle class, and which their larvae are entitled to regardless if anything is actually learned or not. School is about socialization, fashion, cliques, sex, cars and football (drugs and liquor are electives). All that crap that goes on in the classroom is BOR-ING, and strictly for sissies.^

No. Nothing whatsoever to do with "anti-intellectualism," and the word barely makes sense in this context. Many parents have no choice about where their kids go to school or, to be more accurate, get educated. And the education bureaucracy and their political allies are doing their damnedest on every front to make sure it stays that way.

Speaking as someone who has raised kids, and dealt with many other parents, most parents across all income groups have an intense interest in their kids getting the best possible education. There are just not a lot of options. My wife and I had to jump through a lot of bureaucratic hoops to get our kids into a better primary school than they were officially slated for by their street address. We did research.

The rest of the post I mostly agree with, although you can do your own research on Florida education reforms.

It is horribly obvious that our schools - at every level - spend one hell of a lot more money today while offering results that are markedly unimproved over what we used to get for a lot less. ER is hardly the only person I've heard from in our age group who has noticed how well education used to work in much simpler times.