Yes. All schools should be privatized. Competition among schools will lead to increased quality, less waste, and higher pay for educators based on job performance. Public education is a drain on tax dollars and wasteful in practice.

You cant look at test scores from other nations without understanding that countries like Japan, Germany etc… only have the top 30-40% take these tests at the high school level.

The other majority is already on to specialty schools that teach trade skills. If you took the United States top 30-40% our scores would be radically different for the better. But I consider t a good thing that we give opportunity for all to learn.

Their needs to be some changes in the schools no doubt, politicians need to be forward and state the obvious. Lower income schools struggle to perform like the more affluent communities. Parent involvement is just as large a factor (if not more) on student learning then the teachers.

But currently our politicians pretend all students are equal and low income schools are penalized for not performing like the others and money is pulled from the school (which only makes the gap worse).

They need to acknowledge the problem and encourage our top educators ($$$) to get into the schools that need them most. Why would our top teachers go to a school that is going to struggle and lose money to achieve in the current set up?

Yes, but there is no simple way to answer this question. There needs to be more than just a reform of the curriculum. There needs to be a reform of the infrastructure as a whole. The reforms need to be kept at the state levels for implementation, but the states are going to need federal monies to be able to make things happen. Aging schools need to be replaced with larger schools that will handle a growing population. Discipline needs to be brought back into the classroom (within reason) and the teachers’ hands untied. There needs to be some incentive for teachers to remain. Teachers leave the education system faster than they can be obtained for many different reasons: poor pay, inability to discipline, limits as to what they can or can’t teach, etc.

Technology is good to bring in to the classroom, but do not overdo it and while homeschooling is good, it is not for everyone. I have seen mixed results at the university level. Often times those who are home schooled do not have the social skills to successfully navigate the college/university atmosphere. I’m not saying that they can’t, just that it tends to be the more difficult. They tend to have a much more difficult time in class, especially when it comes to small group or class discussions. I am also opposed to just teaching to the SAT/ACT. This is merely teaching to a test. There is more to learn than that. You could teach anyone to take either test within about a year. The students need to be prepared for college, if that is where they are headed. If it is not, they need to know some basics, which is what they are supposed to be taught in high school. Not everyone goes to college, nor should they. It is just not for some people, simply put. That’s what trade schools are for (ie community colleges).

As it is the system is poorly set up. There is no system in place to keep good classroom teachers. The process of pay advancement is to get an M.A./M.S. and through tenure and ambition move up the ranks to the position of Principal. There needs to be a system set up to try to keep more of our teachers in the classrooms and attract more to the field. There also needs to be a system set up to allow the system to feasibly fire bad teachers. As it is, once you are tenured it is almost impossible to get rid of you. That and the Teacher’s Union goes crazy and it is lawsuit time. Maybe call it a Merit System or something, but there must be a way to fix it.

I agree. They all need to be reformed. They need to do away with all those state testing at the end of every school year. They need to also start putting kids in uniforms so that we won’t see kids underwear since they like keeping their pants down to their knees all the time like they do in SC, NC, GA, MS, AL, LA, VA, and other places where they don’t enforce the dress code. They need to have teachers and administrators that will stand up to the kids when they are bad and not worry about Child Protectives Services or Social Services or parents sueing for child abuse. We need to have teachers 100% certified to teach. Not some wacky person that thinks he or she can without being properly certified to do so (unless the child is home schooled then that is different). Reform is a must, give the teachers better pay as well. Give them at least $35,000 a year starting off. Teachers need to be respected again, not just tossed like they are nothing. They can’t teach because they have to worry about some kid with a knife, gun, or something that will endanger them and the other students. Schools need to be like they are in Japan or in South Korea. You wonder why the United States leads the world in drop outs, look at your local school system. That should say it all.

Yes, our schools need reform. However, that is not the full solution. We need a social re-evaluation of the way we value education. In countries with the best education, you don’t just see good schools, you also see a pressure and expectation from parents, mentors, other students, and society in general to be successful in school.

You already see this kind of social pressure in some immigrant communities. It’s very noticeable in some Asian and middle eastern immigrant communities. America as a whole should place this kind of emphasis on education. We need teachers who are willing to actually teach, and we also need students who are willing to be taught.

The simple answer is a resounding yes. Our (America’s) test scores are depressingly low. Public schools must contend with inflating class sizes, shrinking budgets, a society that either takes teachers for granted or believes them to be overpayed, and a myriad of other local and regional issues. The trouble and the debate is, what do we do? THAT question is extremely complex and political.

Agree to reformation. Improvement is an ongoing necessity.

Just wait a few years. we are getting to a point where traditional teaching is going out and alternitive classrooms are taking the stage. Your going too see more students going to class by logging onto their laptops at home and haveing a classroom online. It will be cheaper and the educaitonal value will be greater.

Not particularly. There is always room for improvemnet, but wholesale reform is not really necessary.

I think tat for high schools we should get rid of state testing and just focus on preping students for the SAT’s and/or the ACTs