Gee. The blame game. How fun. Prime example of what is wrong with the ME too, incidentally. Anyway....
My 5-point plan for un****ing the public school system:
1. Pay teachers more. You can't attract better talent without more cash. There is a price for this, found in point 2.
2. End tenure for public school teachers. You're an employee, evaluated on performance, not on longevity.
3. Establish performance metrics that include standardized tests for various subjects at particular waypoints. These tests would include essays and such, so I'm not just talking about multiple choice scantron bull****. Yeah, I know standardized tests aren't popular to some people, but you've got to measure if you want improvement. Tough ****.
4. Recognize that not every kid is college material. Establish exams before you enter your Junior year of High School to determine university or votech track. Institute appropriate vo-tech education to give them the specialized skills to make a good living, and get them certified in a skill/program of their choice. This doesn't mean they can't pursue a college degree later in life. There is as much honor and worth in landscaping, being a good mechanic, a plumber or a nurse (yes, I know that takes longer...) as there is in a bachelor's degree.
5. Create accountability in your students. ****-ups have consequences. I have a friend, for instance, that had to figure out which students REALLY deserved to fail, because she was only allowed to fail a certain percentage. **** that.
"In the world of martial arts, respect is often a given. In the real world, it must be earned."
"A stupid man's report of what a clever man says is never accurate because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand. "--Bertrand Russell
"Liberals - Cosmopolitan critics, men who are the friends of every country save their own. "--Benjamin Disraeli
"A conservative government is an organised hypocrisy."--Benjamin Disraeli