I fear you've missed my point, McGrath: I was describing, as I see it, society's current mores: the bathwater of absolutes has been thrown out of the window, and the rights and duties baby has been thrown out with it.

But, since we're talking about educating kids, I think your "duty to seek out the knowledge and skills" is inappropriate: kids need to have knowledge and skills banged into them; few are mature enough to recognise their duty to learn.