Parent's Rights

So I received a brochure from the school yesterday called "Parent's Rights: A Brief Summary of Procedural Safeguards" Call me crazy, but am I not the one who pays taxes for them to educate my child - so shouldn't I be the one to tell them what their rights with my child are and what I want done to ensure their safety?

One statement stood out: "You must be given the opportunity to participate in all meetings during which  decisions will be made about your child's educational services." At first glance this seems rational but the real question is what makes you think you are the one who gets to control everything about my child? It basically said that they are going to have the meeting and make the decision whether we are there or not, and we only have to be informed about what is going on.

Please don't get me wrong, I am not opposed to the whole education system. I was trained in education for a reason - I have a passion to work with children and to help them learn and grow. But I think that we need to remember that all of our good intentions will never replace the rights and responsibilities parents have for their own children. Schools can not take the place of parents, even if the parents are really bad. We need to help parents learn to be parents and to train and discipline their children. Teachers and administrators should only need to be concerned with teaching our children, not raising them.