What is the job description of a notary public?

Are they supposed to read and intrepret the document they are notarising? Or are they supposed to just notarize the signature and make sure you are who you say you are? I took passport documents for my children to be notarised- the notary said he’d have to call the department of state and didn’t seem to understand that I was the applying parent, there fore a certain section was unapplicable. After lots of explaining by me, he notarised them and didn’t feel it necessary to call the state department.