Most everyone agrees that many (not all) of our public schools are failing to prepare students for entering college, the work force, or responsible citizenry.  There is disagreement, not only on which people or esoteric forces get blamed, but what to do about the problem.  Before the problem of ineffective public schools can be solved, it must be understood.

In Educating, Not Babysitting!, Ryker and Rogers detail how the many failing public school systems manage to fail so spectacularly with our future generations by systematically lowering standards, with the support of parents and taxpayers, and how the culture of "at riskness", combined with corrupting government grants systematize these low standards.  The authors outline in poignant detail how these low standards prevent the education of millions of public school students, and indeed turn them into lifelong opponents of education.   Ultimately, the book is a hopeful one.  It outlines how, if taxpayers, parents, students, teachers and administrators unite around high expectations and standards for our students,  any school district can become effective in educating and inspiring our future generations of Americans.