I know I'm in danger of being compared to education minister Michael Gove and his belief in a 'golden age' of education. Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, says the idea it was better in the 1950s and 1960s is simply misleading, as only a small percentage of the population took formal exams at 16.
"There are now five times as many pupils who get five A* to C grades at GCSE than did in 1968," he told The Independent.
But all I know is my nan, brought up in a poor part of Wales, could write and read perfectly well and had a good all-round understanding of the world.
My state-educated mother from Coventry can answer all the questions on University Challenge, as can my father, an East End docker's son. All went on to good jobs, my nan even starting her own jewellery business.
Compare that to the 15-year-old who has just achieved an A in English GCSE this year but who admits to having never read a book (even his teacher laughed at the result). Or the 10-year-old who is getting top marks for English, even though full stops, capital letters and apostrophes are missing.
What worries me is children have so much potential, if only it could be harnessed properly. But all I can see is a system focused on prepping and testing for exams, in order to generate high league table results.
It has got so bad Marius Frank, CEO of awarding body Asdan (and a former headteacher), tells me teachers are now worried parents will sue schools because questions expected in an exam do not appear.
If only the education system were like maths, with a right or wrong answer. Unfortunately, it is more like arts: lots of debate and analysis before drawing your conclusion - and disagreement aplenty as to the right conclusion.
We seem to be forgetting what truly matters here. More than a million young people are out of work. There has been a major rise in those aged 16-24 who are either unable, or taking longer, to make the first move from education into work. Kids are coming out of school lacking the necessary skills and qualifications to find employment in the 21st century.
There is no room here to discuss all the causes and effects. But what I do know is we are letting our children down. And we are, as a consequence, letting our employers and our country down.
It is time to stop the blame game and to start taking responsibility for the future. That means all of us: politicians, teachers, employers, parents and children alike.
