Centuries ago the average parent was illiterate and thus couldn't possibly do the job. However most literate parents of average intelligence (teachers as a whole are not especially intelligent) with the ability to give specialized attention, can do a decent job.
no offense, but lawyers are likewise cut from the same stock as teachers. they aren't especially bright, either; they simple have a different skillset. being a good, competent teacher is extraordinarily difficult -- what it lacks in the demand for strong memorization and structured thought it more than compensates for with a need for superior empathy, pedogogy, and social skills.
the standards for teachers are significantly lower since a) as a society, we do not offer incentives for teaching like we do for lawyerin'; b) we tend to have more experience with bad teachers since we encounter anywhere from 20-40 teachers overall in our lives, but maybe 1-3 lawyers; and c) teachers' unions and organizations lack the money to develop power and structure like the legal communities can. a good teacher can shape a person's academic future for the better like no-one else can, not even parents. teaching requires a master's degree, as well, and exposes the teaching student to a diversity of ideas and academic thought that they will not get as a parent.
it's ironic that the two folks praising parents and devaluing teachers are two academically embittered misfits who have never even attempted to parent a child. i hate to pull that card, but as a pretty academically inclined dude with an academically inclined wife, i can't imagine replacing public schooling with home schooling.
