What do you think needs to be done to make our schools better?
101204
I'm going to venture a wild idea, that I hope people forgive me on, it is just an idea. I think we should either imitate what they do in Japan, Germany, or France.\n In every TIMSS study, Japan is constantly and consistently at the top. In everything, from math(the best tested nation in math in all of the developed world),science( I think they're number 2) and in reading( there in the top ten(I'm not sure about rank). We score 32, 33 in terms of ranks in all major areas.Japanese students are taught from the time they start school to be self-sufficient, and to be competitive. They study, study, and study some more. In order to move on to the next level like middle school and high school, they have to take a national exam! Students definitely want to do well!  Granted, they are the most stressed children in the world, but you can't argue with results. They have a 90% national graduation rate from high school. We have a 67% high school graduation rate. American students need to be taught that in life sometimes you have to be competitive to be the best, and that there is nothing wrong with doing well in school. Our culture of nerds and jocks, where the jocks are popular is not setting the right culture for us to be competitive in the long run.\n Also in Japan everyone wants to be the best so that they could attend the best universities. True,in the US we have the same culture(i.e. for Ivies), but it is so much more pronounced in Japan. \n   In short, Japan, Germany, and France have rigor that is lacking in some parts of our school system.\n "No Child Left Behind" is a step in the right direction, but we have a long way to go, to truly have a K-12 school system that is the best in the world. We are THE BEST in research and grad school.
767955
yes i do think we need to have a better or even security at high schools and colleges
560842
Food. Offer breakfast or something to have students meet their mentor over breakfast. Then have them pair up and do a scavenger hunt around the school (the first team to find all of the locations wins something). Make it a competetion and offer food...that always seems to get my students into it.
1060911
If I were a techer....\n I would give my students the most important thing in life: The love of learning. \nThat and I would rally with all the other teachers to do away with No Child Left Behind, or at least change the parts that are hurting our children and not helping.
776577
a couple ideas off the top of my head:\n\n-Study tips\n-safe, fun stuff to do on weekends\n-bullying awareness\n-profiling teachers (both new/old)
599362
trying to make the world a better place for our children
828257
I think it is a great idea.  If the public schools don't do their job, as judged by the parents, the parents should get their per pupil allotment in a voucher to use elsewhere.\n\nIncentive for the school to do better, ability for our children to get better education if private schools can do it better for the same amount.
515977
what do you want us to do
528758
I think real guns should be mandatory for every student.\n\nI think bullying and school violence will go WAY down if everyone is armed.\nA bully will think twice before taking some nerd's lunch money if the nerd is packing a .45\nThink about it, Columbine would have NEVER happened if every student was armed. The two CRAZY morons would have been shot in a minute.\n\nThis way we will have armed and VERY, EXTREMELY polite schools.
1037219
If I had the money...I would fix up inner city schools and make sure they have modern computers and have people who know how to fix them. With large numbers of people leaving the country and moving to the city, this could be very helpful. I would also work on feeding and clothing the poor in America.
8640
The best thing that works is the old stick and carrot routine. \n\nYou encourage them to work harder by offering rewards for jobs well done, and punish them for poor performance - up to and including firing. \n\nGet rid of tenure at public schools, and make it so that regardless of how much time you put in, you have to pull your weight or you have to go.
327141
The best and most overlooked way to improve classroom education of any kind is to introduce the use of boardgames. I have taught for over ten years all over the world, and only when I use boardgames do students voluntarily insist on extending their classes for two, three, even four hours. Not only that but they then show the most rapid improvement. \nCheck out the following websites for some useful background info.\n\nhttp://www.rpg.net/sites/edu/1-1.html...\n\nhttp://www.rpg.net/sites/edu/1-2.html...\n\nhttp://subscriptions.fasfind.com/wwwtool...\n\nhttp://www.gama.org/uploads/ns/xx/nsxx7l...\n\nGive it a try and you will be amazed. At least you will be helping to break the monopoly that the big textbook publishers have over the education industry.
1141983
I think this is a very good idea.  You need to start with the administration of the High School and the targeted elementary schools, if you want to get anywhere.  You also might be able to bring something like this into a local Boys & Girls Club.
1021653
Send your kids to them and get involved. Provide support to the teachers--volunteer if you can, donate supplies if you can. Fight for the rights of all the kids, not only your own. Raise holy hell politically and in the media if there is serious incompetence in the administration--spread the word if a school or teacher is doing a great job. Don't kibbitz from the sidelines--participate.
808326
If you mean, the free education we have that has taught less than 35% of our children to read at a 3rd grade level,  low standards for children, lack of education for the educator and general chaos in our schools as the way we know it today.. I HOPE SO!   I really hope the new changes to the American Education Act (No Child Left Behind) really improves our schools.  The one good thing Bush gave us.  No one is accountable and our children are among the least educated in the world... shameful!
628170
1. Support from administration.\n2. Support from parents.\n3. All needed resources available and easily accessible.\n4. Eliminate standardized testing and NCLB.\n5. Reduce unnecessary paperwork.\n6. Increase in pay.
317359
You really do need to do some homework---quick, fast, and in a hurry.  You are the prime example of why the American education system is failing our kids.