You are a one eyed git then. I also have kids in the system and school is not at all like what you are saying it is. Local state schools spend a lot of time teaching the three R's. It's an urban myth that they don't. And my kids are all getting good grades and are more advanced academically than what I recall being at their ages.
The reason grades for some students are falling is manyfold IMO. Getting a good education is no longer seen as essential to earning a comfortable living. People like miners and politicians are some of the highest paid people in the country and no degree is required.
Also some homes are dysfunctional drug dens with parents not encouraging kids to study hard. And there is the addictive lure of video gaming eating into study time.
