More on education

Yesterday, I discussed how education could be made a little easier for both students and parents to endure. What I failed to think about was the nature of the average teenager/parent relationship, how the school system works (or doesn't), and how that all ties into the end result. Maybe today I'll try and tackle that group of issues.
The problem is, I've only ever been on the one side of the teenager/parent relationship. My wife and I can't have kids. Being an uncle is close, but I don't have to try to get the girls up in the morning. I can relate the experiences my best friend has had, but it still isn't the same. The point being, take anything I say in this post with a grain of salt.
I think communicating with a teenager these days is pretty close to what talking with an alien life form will be like. They might understand the words in general, but can't put them into context. We speak from experience, and they assume we know nothing. As I recall, at that age, I thought I had a good bead on things too. When was the last time you had a teenager actually come to you and tell you something about how they feel?
I think what we need to do is find some kind of common language. Neither the parent or child should use slang when talking to each other, except for sayings that they hold in common. I wish I had a nickle for every time my nieces have looked at me and shook their heads over something I've said that just sounded too weird. So, when speaking with your teenager, speak plain English, and expect the same from them.
Now that you and your child are speaking the same language, you can figure out what the kid expects from his/her education, and they know what you expect from them.
This road goes both ways though. You have to understand where they want to go, and be willing to support that. Don't expect stellar grades in biology if your child wants to write music, or be an auto mechanic. If she's happier with a wrench than a paint brush, let her run with it. Kids don't always make the choices that we would have them make, and at some point, we have to live with that. Anything else just pushes them away, and you lose communication.
Dealing with your child is going to be a lot easier than dealing with the school system these days. I have heard some real horror stories.
I think the biggest problem is that the system now has more rules and regulations governing it than it can handle. In the local Catholic system, kids are not allowed to play football or baseball at recess anymore. Someone might fall and hurt themselves, and the school be held liable. Most of the problems at school these days stem from the likelihood that the board will be sued. This is our fault, we handed them the kids, let's give them the ability to do something with them.
The other problem with education is funding. What we expect the kids to learn quickly outstrips the resources for teaching. Textbooks are out of date within two years. Some schools have to make do with books twenty or more years old. There has to be a better way of providing up to date material. I still like the idea of computer disc based texts. Lighter for students to carry, and much easier to replace when obsolete.
Okay, so let's put these thoughts together. What we have is a school system trying to get by with fewer resources and hobbled by the regulations they have to use just to keep out of the courts. At the other end, we have kids that have been raised by the mass media because the parents have to work so hard to make ends meet. The adult and child are speaking two different forms of the same language, and so do not communicate effectively. Where does all of this put education?
It may just be my opinion, but it seems to me that it leaves the kids hanging onto a thin rope and falling into whatever life they can carve out for themselves.