What would you change about public schools? Why?
924088
Raise the pay for the teachers so the good ones will stay in education.   Have better methods for evaluating the teachers so the really bad teachers are removed.   Teaching is more than a job and those that aren't in it for the kids needs to leave.   Teachers need to eat and enjoy life so their salary's should be comparable to any other professional persons salary that requires the training and the sacrifices a teacher must make to teach.   They need the respect of parents and the support of the community.   Less Administration and their high salaries and concentrate on the child, with the best teachers, more materials and less frills.   Back to the basics in elementary school, exploration in the middle school, and specialized training in high school with three types of diplomas, Academic- for college bound, commercial - for business  and general for those who are just there in body and go Thur the motions of getting an education.   An exit exam would be a good idea if someone could come up with a good exit exam.
51747
The answer depends almost entirely on where you live.  Some public schools are quite good while some really stink.  For example, I live in Dallas, and the Dallas Independent School District has a very bad reputation - if I had kids, I would do what I could to send them to private school.  However, some of the suburban school districts are great and I'd have no problem using them - and saving the money I'd spend on a private school.  I went to public schools and I turned out fine (I think...).
747851
The whole school teaching system should be renewed, from the basic to the high school.\n\nThere are irrelevant things that should not be taught, and there are things that misses from there.\n\nThe world has changed, and so should the school systems.  Because it hasn`t changed, the whole school feels booring and unnecassary waste of time.\n\nAlso I think that the high school mathematic skills should not be tried to teach all of us, because there are clearly 2 kinds of people: the ones that get`s it and the onès that won`t  (no matter how they are threatened with kicking outs) The same goes to subjects that need creativity skills.
813555
The 1st thing would be to bring home the approx. 40,000 troops we have stationed in Germany and post them along the Mexican border. They already have the training and equipment they need. Their orders are not to let anyone across w/o proper documentation.\n    The 2nd thing would be to abolish the Department of Education. In its nearly 30 years of existence, American public schools have gone from being the envy of the world to the biggest joke of the world.\n     The 3rd thing would be to eliminate funding for the arts. If artists can't sell what they create, they should find other employment. It is not the taxpayer's responsibility to feed them.\n      I think those three are a good start - there is tons more that needs to be done.
997704
I taught in a public school for three years.  The "powers that be" actually told me to stop grading for grammatical and spelling errors, saying all of my students would fail.  That is a travesty.  From my perspective as a teacher, ignorance (which is what I believe you are really asking) is on the rise.  Despite compulsory education, it almost appears to me that we are reverting to a 19th century-like model with an educated few and masses of ignorance.
447902
Huge debate there... not sure where to start.\n\nPros:\n-Educates the masses about STDs.\n-Educates the masses on reproduction and general knowledge of health issues and care for ones reproductive system.\n-Takes the stress off of the parents who may feel too embarrased to discuss with thier children.\n-Offers relief to those who wonder if the changes they are experiencing are "normal".\n-Helps remove the shame western cultures have towards sexuality.\n-Demystifies controversial topics like homosexuality.\n-Give a third party the opportunity to observe behaviors in the student that may suggest sexual abuse.\n-Educates student on safety issues.\n\ncons:\n-Does not (and should not) explain moral issues.  This is the sole responsibility of the parent, not the government.\n-Does not give the parent the decision of what time is best for thier child to be exposed to sexual topics.\n-Does not (and should not) cover religious issues. Also the sole responsibility of the parent.\n-Invites curiosity in the students which might lead to experimentation.\n-Introduces students to topics that parents may not approve of, like homosexuality.\n-Depending on the maturity and psychological state of the student, could create fear or anxiety.\n\nMy personal opinion, I am pro-education on all topics.  My only request is that the schools let me know the curriculum and agenda so that I can cover the topics with my child first.  She should understand our families moral and religious views before she is introduced the topic by a stranger or government employee.
125209
NO!!!!  Ever been in line to get a drivers license?  Actually, quite the opposite.  I believe we need to privatize schools.  Capitalism will only make the product better. Instead of government controlling everything if we allow the private sector to compete for our children and their education they will have no choice but to be better schools.
219970
Yeah, I grew up in NE Ohio, and the Cleveland City Schools are just a mess. Same with my school district down in Canton. I think that we just need to completely revamp the entire school system for many of the schools not just in NE Ohio.\n\nWe need motivated teachers, curriculums that focus on helping our students become well-rounded students, rooms that are setup for our students to be the best that they could be, but, most of all, we need parents who are behind their kids and act as their motivation and give them a good kick in the ass when they need it.\n\nThings need to change, and while we might not be up to the standards that Europe or the Far East might have, I still think that American schoolchildren are just as good in numerous aspects of intelligence and schooling.\n\nWe need change now!
529108
"Replace" is a strong word.  I can see them becoming more readily accepted, and probably will become the dominant mechanism for some types of education, but I really think they will ultimately have more impact on K-12 than on universities, and they will never have any real impact on graduate school (beyond some isolated degree programs like the MBA).  The university may be able to farm out a lot of the required coursework...the same types that we used to try to CLEP out of years ago, but I can't see the majority of coursework becoming online only.  Still, the volume of classes that CAN become online will have a great effect on the way we do higher education.
521674
It's really happening.  A lot of people in this country place no value on education anymore, not to mention that many schools are atrocious.  Also, look at our culture - huge divorce rate, undisciplined children, continuously lowering standards, I could go on and on.  I run a business where I have to deal with the public every day.  What I see scares me.  Incidentally, the school district in my city thinks that having 67% of the students reading at grade level is good.  That is the mentality.
397477
whether it's fair or not, limiting budgets will increase the parity.  i don't think parity can ever be equalized since certain factors will always be different - things like school size, location, admissions standards, etc.
547290
I would give public school teachers a higher paycheck.
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.
1177860
First, I would increase the number of school days from the current average of ~180 to ~220 making school virtually year round, with 4 - two week breaks between terms. Second, I would reduce class size. No more than 15 students per teacher, K -6. No more than 20, 7th - 12th grade. I would teach more subjects on life skills, and allow more subject specialization in 9th - 12th grade (to train in specific trades).
58420
1. it imposes new, heavy federal requirements on all public schools, but does not provide any extra money for schools to meet those requirements.\n\n2. those requirements come in the form of standardized testing, and links a school's test scores to funding.  if a school does poorly, it gets less money, and if it continues to do poorly (which is likely, if it receives less money), it gets closed down.\n\n3.  this causes schools to focus heavily on preparing students for standardized tests, which is a very task-specific skill set, at the expense of teaching critical thinking, music, arts, and other important programs.\n\n4.  schools with low test scores are often those with little money in poor neighborhoods populated by minority students; these schools are already cash-strapped and struggle to hire decent teachers and maintain decaying facilities.  there is no way that cutting funding even further is going to improve their students' scores.\n\n5. given that minority inner-city students are the ones who start out with poor test scores, it can be construed that NCLB is tilted in favor of white, middle-class suburban students, who already have the benefit of being raised in a wealthy environment that is conducive to success.  seems pretty unfair to me.\n\nin general, NCLB is a form of negative reinforcement - schools with students that perform poorly get hit with more cuts, instead of being helped.  it has been shown many times that behavior modification through negative reinforcement does not work.  NCLB should be modified so that those schools that perform well receive extra funding, and it should include a budget appropriation to pay for the costs of administering the tests and rewards.
548897
I oppose school vouchers.\n\nWhy Vouchers Are Bad for Public Schools\n\n1. Even a pilot voucher program would siphon hundreds of millions of dollars in public tax dollars out of neighborhood public schools to fund private and religious schools. Public schools are already struggling to pay for equipment and other resources they need to teach our children.\n\n2. Vouchers don’t create ’choice’ for parents and kids; they create ’choice’ for private schools at taxpayers’ expense. The private voucher experiment in progress in Edgewood ISD confirms that private schools will use vouchers to recruit the most talented and academically motivated kids out of public schools at taxpayers’ expense, leaving behind the children who can’t get into private school.\n\n3. Despite the loss of some students to vouchers, schools will not see a reduction in their bond debt, personnel and program costs. School boards would be left holding the bag-forced to make up their budget shortfall by raising the property taxes of local businesses and citizens.\n\n4. The pro-voucher lobby’s promises are misleading. Elite private schools are very selective and a voucher would not cover tuition. Many private schools would refuse vouchers if state accountability tests or standards were required.\n\n5. Due to the huge sums of tax money that would be newly available under a voucher scheme, fly-by-night schools would open, looking only to make a profit. The state would be powerless to prevent these unaccredited and unqualified schools from taking taxpayer funds.\n\n6. Spending public tax dollars for religious schools violates the state and federal constitutional separation of church and state. Hundreds of clergy from across the state have decried the use of vouchers as an affront to our constitutionally guaranteed protections.\n\n7. There is no credible evidence that vouchers improve the educational achievement of students who use them, while there is abundant proof that smaller classes, early reading intervention, a longer school year, and other reforms do work. Voucher schemes represent a billion dollar long-shot gamble with our children’s lives and our state’s future.\n\nhttp://www.tfn.org/publiceducation/vouchers/oppose/index.php
1165702
We currently have a dysfunctional school board that spends all of its time arguing with and dissing other members of the board.  Last fall, a major school bond issue failed, because voters have no trust in the board.  We have recently gotten a new superintendent and I hope that he will be able to turn things around.