I would say the teacher was right, in a way. The school is indeed in charge of your son's education, because when you registered your son for school, you put them in charge.
You can delegate authority, but not responsibility, which is why, ultimately, final responsibility and authority still rests with you. If things aren't going right, the school still has to answer to you for it.
Well said. And yet there seems to be a change occurring to make parents agents of the state, evaluated by and answerable to government schools, regarding the child's education. The larger the proportion of disengaged parents who are not supporting their child's education, the wider the door is opened for government schools to oversee and monitor parenting. Many districts offer parenting seminars and schools have the ability to monitor inside the home via school laptop video cam and microphone.
Seemingly unrelated policies and practices are put in place, akin to lining up a row of dominoes. Then one small change occurs (similar to tapping the first domino) and far-reaching change takes place very rapidly (similar to the chain of motion as each domino falls and taps down the next). This analogy is not original, it is called the domino effect.
It is my understanding that maintaining any semblance of parental authority into the future, parents need to keep an eye on legislation, and be willing to contact their State and Federal representatives. Ensuring and expanding parental rights, including the right to home school, is key. Once that is gone, parents are indeed agents of the state.
Stepping off my soapbox...
