The thing about public schools being the stop-gap for educating the children of the poor is that it pretty much ensures that they will continue in their parent's footsteps. The public school system, in general, does a shockingly poor job of educating their pupils. I admit that there are public schools that are just fine for the majority of kids, but I want more than "just fine" for the peers of my children. My kids are getting a great education, and their social interaction is not at all suffering because I consider it an important part of their education. But their peers who, for the most part, go to local public schools, are not getting anywhere near as good an education. My kids' peers are not taught to teach themselves, they are spoon fed every bit of information that they need to regurgitate on their exams, and many lose their love of learning early on because of it. Where's the mystery, the quest for knowledge?
I do agree that there are parents that just aren't capable of teaching their children, but that does not exclude them from home schooling. There are great resources nowadays for these people. Home school organizations offer lots of group learning situations; there are curricula available that include teaching DVDs; tutors are available, as well as smart neighbors, friends & relatives.
Public schools only hinder the individual parent's ability to find innovative solutions to educating their children. Of course, doing away with public schools would require the parents to give a - hoot. Parents would have to start *gasp* parenting. I don't think we can legislate that, so public schools will just have to keep up the "good" work.
