Wow, we had quite similar upbringings. My dad was the co-president of the county's Gifted & Talented Association, and like you I was always in the best classes and magnet programs (even if that required busing), and when I had bad teachers, my dad got me swapped into the best teacher's class within a week. I even had a similar issue with a teacher, but fortunately that was later in high school and I was able to handle it by myself. This teacher, in fact: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tasneemnashrulla/a-reno...
And yeah, having someone in your corner who knows how to navigate the school system and get the best for you is super important. I wouldn't be where I am today without his guidance, plus all the extra-curricular science and math activities/competitions he took me to on weekends or for summer camps.
Parents need to stay involved in their kids education. Many are forced away due to circumstances they can't control, but too many are willing to abdicate and let things run on autopilot. They they are surprised when their Tesla runs into a firetruck.
The thing is, the vast majority of parents do not have the kind of experience with the school system that our parents do. It's unreasonable to expect it.
The system should work well even for those who don't have knowledgeable parents advocating for them, because most do not, and it's a horrible waste of talent for an entire country to throw away most of their potential geniuses through lack of good education that works for everyone. I was in magnet programs my entire public school life from fourth grade, but most of my peers were similarly privileged students, because the average students' parents didn't even know about the admission exams to get into these programs, let alone how to properly study for them. I got a huge leg up on all of it.
Of my oldest three daughters, two are in the "advanced" track. I personally think it stifles them. They are kept with the same small group of kids through elementary school and afew more are added in middle school (from neighboring elementaries), but all the kids have fairly interested parents and kids who can't keep up get shunted out. They struggle and feel stressed.
My oldest is not in the advanced track, but she's still able to take AP courses and keep a high GPA. She stresses less about socializing since she's been exposed to a wider variety of kids.
I'm don't think you have to know the ins and outs of school bureaucracy to help your student succeed. I do think you need to talk to them, keep informed of their progress, and make an effort to communicate with teachers.
This is a typical feature of any bureaucracy, which basically describes every large power to some degree (some of which are more bureaucratic and others are less).
In a free market business, you can get special treatment, favors, etc., by offering more money. For example, if you want a better apartment, you pay more money for it. Under socialism, where supposedly everyone is treated equally and the apartments are supposedly equal, you get the better apartment using influence, trading favors, bartering, etc.
For another example, when you need surgery, which surgeon do you get? Under capitalism, you pay more for the better surgeon. Under socialism, you get the better surgeon through influence, favors, barter, bribes, etc. The same goes for any service or product where nothing is exactly equal.
This distinction doesn't ring true to me. There is plenty of corruption of all types in capitalism as well. You never seen or heard of someone calling in a favor to help a friend, even though no money changes hands? Or even if money does change hands, it's often under the table (like the recent college admissions scandal), and doesn't actually go to pay the correct body for the service being rendered.
> You never seen or heard of someone calling in a favor to help a friend
Of course I have. But under capitalism the normal method is through prices. With socialism, the normal method is as I said, because the pricing method is not available.
For another example, food prices are set by the government under socialism. The actual "price" of food was how long you were willing to wait for it. People would pay others to stand in line for them. There were shortages of the better stuff. While in a free market grocery, the price varies daily depending on fluctuating demand and supply. Shortages are rare.
Talk to someone who used to live in the former USSR.
I would absolutely love to go deep into all the ways in which what you've said misses the mark, but I frankly don't have the time (or probably even adequate space) to do so here. If this is a subject that interests you, you could probably find some neutral sources to educate you. That will help you discuss this in a way that doesn't lead to people exclaiming "What?!" out loud while drinking their morning coffee.
And yeah, having someone in your corner who knows how to navigate the school system and get the best for you is super important. I wouldn't be where I am today without his guidance, plus all the extra-curricular science and math activities/competitions he took me to on weekends or for summer camps.