Oh, Dodie, I can so relate to what you're feeling. Ans the sad news is that, while you might not be the only voice in the wilderness - you don't have a lot of company! As a past school governor, I can tell you that very few parents engage with what their kids are doing at school. For many of them, school is where their kids go during the day. They appreciate the break. Their job is to deliver the child to school every morning and fetch him/her every afternoon. It is the school's job to educate their children. During my time as governor, I was shocked at how many parents aren't even 100% sure what school year their kids are in. They usually know the teacher's name and use that as a point of reference for someone better informed to remind them which school year that teacher teaches. They are very quick to kick up stink when the requirements of the school impinge on their own lives or inconvenience them in any way. And boy, will they demand action when their kids come home complaining about ill-treatment (real, fictitious or perceived) at the hands of a teacher or another child!

In the blogosphere, we naturally encounter other parents who are concerned. Those who don't are hardly likely to bother blogging about it, but there are tragically many of them and I have spent many a sleepless night trying to figure out how to get parents to give a hoot!

In the interests of full disclosure I have to point out that the "don't care" attitude was new to me when I arrived in the UK - it is my (probably biased) impression that South African parents are far more concerned and involved. However, I have no experience of Canadian education or the attitudes of parents to it, so the value my 2p-worth is open to question.