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I was reading a string of e-mails from a friend gnashing his teeth about the American liberal "virus," as he likes to call it, when a reply to one of his e-mails called out for my full attention.

As background, you should know that the series of e-missives concerned eyebrow-raising stunts pulled by a variety of licensed educators from around our nation - all in the name of high-quality public education.

The terse reply at issue came from a parent who, after what was clearly a gut-wrenching period of discernment, told my friend of his family's decision this past week to leave the Albuquerque Public Schools system and go private.

The choice came with financial ramifications, but, as the parent noted, the family will get it paid for one way or another.

The move followed a series of meetings to discuss, among other things, a lack of grades. Not bad grades, but no grades. Homework would come home ungraded.

After a parent-teacher-principal conference, stars suddenly appeared on the homework. The stars' value wasn't known.

"I think it meant the teacher liked to draw stars," the father said.

The father's theory is that teachers are simply working toward getting students to pass national tests and little else.

The national tests, a byproduct of the No Child Left Behind malaise cooked up between the White House and Congress in 2003, are at best problematic.

But the tests aren't the sole problem with our schools. When President Bush met with such lights as Ted Kennedy to proclaim his shared concern about our schools, he immediately pledged to increase Department of Education funding by nearly 100 percent, thus further perpetuating the myth that money equals quality. The fact that Bush is today vilified for his education reforms by the left, including the teachers' unions, only proves that no matter how gently you try to pet a rattlesnake, it will bite you.

Tossing aside the money and the tests, we're still left with public school systems more dedicated to social experimentation and indoctrination than teaching.

Last month, the school board in Portland, Maine, took a huge step in usurping parental rights and voted to make birth control pills available at its King Middle School.

In Seattle last week, the school district sent kids home with a list of "11 Thanksgiving Myths." Given the rank defamation of our Founders in today's public schools, it's easy to imagine what those "myths" might be.

However, the headline-grabber is Myth No. 11. According to a district memo, the myth is that "Thanksgiving is a happy time." The alleged fact? "For many Indian people, `Thanksgiving' is a time of mourning . . . a bitter reminder of 500 years of betrayal returned for friendship."

Perhaps. But even though I'm risking my chance at getting a star, I'm guessing it's more likely that American Indian parents, like so many others from sea to shining sea, lament the myth that our public schools truly have our best interests in mind.