> this approach unfairly favors the middle and upper classes who have the time to do this. Yes, that's the argument against it. And it is even worse than you

> this approach unfairly favors the middle and upper classes who have the time to do this. Yes, that's the argument against it. And it is even worse than you might guess because they don't do just regular classroom stuff. They go on trips. They build things. They talk to experts. They use nice tablets and laptops. etc. Our local nice private school costs ~$20K a semester. We blow the doors off that cost just in lost wages alone. I'm a big believer in solving all problems at once -- we are solving this problem for ourselves and I think we are building a model for public schools to strive for if they ever care to look. We also need to try and solve the larger societal problem you mentioned. The key factor is parent focus and involvement. You can't reform schools alone to make that happen. The government is not getting it right, but not just because the schools aren't running as they should. We need to get to the point where people have the time and resources to care about their kids education on a day to day basis even at the lowest end of the socio-economic scale. We must get a better handle on poverty in this country.