• As parents, we've been sold a bill of goods by schools that we don't matter. That's flat wrong. When America's schools were the best in the world, they were parent-driven.
  
  
• America's ability to innovate and compete worldwide is diminishing. This is a direct result of our flawed system of education that is based on the absurd concept that all children are alike and learn alike. This one-size-fits-all approach is proving to be a recipe for disaster for America.
  
  
• Standardized testing is one of the biggest hoaxes ever perpetrated on parents and our children. Test scores have become of the sole measurement of our schools and tragically, of our children.
  
  
• Parents, not the government, should determine whether controversial subjects should be taught in schools.
  
  
• New Zealand, which boasts one of the foremost school systems in the world, offers nationwide school choice. All of their schools are charter schools.
  
  
• Local schools must be re-structured to serve not the bureaucracy, but their primary customers - the parents and the students.
  
  
• Teachers must not be forced to waste their talents by 'teaching to the standardized tests', but should take on new roles as mentors, coaches and primary resources for students.
  
  
• Our goal should be to guide and encourage our children to become life-long learners - able to find answers on their own - not force them to spend most of their time memorizing facts that they will soon forget.
  
  
• Too often, children are learning machines, until they get to school.
  
  
• We can change the system - all we have to do is get involved.
  
  

About the Author

Randy Gaschler is the father of five children and the founder of one of the nation's first and most successful charter schools. He is a graduate of UCLA, where he won All-American honors on the Bruin football team. Randy has five teaching credentials and has coached varsity high school sports. Today, he is the President of Innovative Education Management (IEM), a non-profit organization dedicated to managing parent-driven schools. He can be reached at Randyg@Parentdrivenschools.com.