Jonathan,
I don't know if I am qualified to speak on how to fix PUBLIC eduction.
I make my living as a PRIVATE instructor that trains adults in very technical subjects.
I can tell you that I have a hard time finding any examples of the government doing something that is not largely wasteful at best.
After EVERY single class I teach I am reviewed by my students. If my review average drops below 8 (on a scale from 1-9) I can not teach that class again and that directly impacts my ability to make a living teaching.
This keeps me on my toes and keeps me the best I can be. That is good for me and the students which are my customers. Anyone wanting to hire me or sub-contact me can see my ratings and performance over the past 12 years of professional training.
I don't have kids so my knowledge of the PUBLIC system is very limited.
I know that the USA ranks below ALL industrialized nations in Science and Math student scores (we basically have 3rd world education in Math and Science). And I think this is to blame for many of the issues we have in this country.
Many large IT firms I work with have been hiring for big $$ jobs all though the 'down turn' and have been unable to fill the positions with US citizens because we simply don't have a populace educated in Science and Math. They have to import people to fill the positions or move the IT departments out of the country.
Last year I went to see the movie "Waiting for Superman"
http://www.waitingforsuperman.com/
I was STUNNED.
If what this movie/documentary shows is factual, teachers have no real accountability once they reach tenure in only 2 years and have to be paid, can not be fired for doing a crap job.
Perhaps I am being too simplistic, but it seems to me it would make a world of difference if teachers got paid (and retained employment) based on performance not tenure.
That is how it works in my field and it works very well.
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