1. Teachers are the same as any other human being and their occupation reflects that; some good, some bad; most mediocre.
2. Teachers are only a part of the problem and part of the solution. The unspoken elephant is bad parents and parenting.
3. The educational system is increasingly a government concern and reflects that in all ways at all levels.
4. Curriculum is increasing antithetical to families, faith and Americanism.
Given the bent of human nature, the decline in the family and culture and the greed for power in an increasingly remote and tyrannical government all bets seem off for the revitalization and improvement of public (er, government) schools.
Unless the system is freed from the negative forces of all four major elements, education will only continue its decline.
Suggested solutions are many, varied and largely fanciful unless all four components are addressed. So, current alternative options are the best solutions for concerned parents unwilling to gamble on ‘new and improved’ public education claims.
That leaves charter schools (still controlled by the system), private and parochial schools (as long as they are sound and watched carefully) and, of course, homeschooling.
For my money, homeschooing is where it's at. Of course, it's subject to compromise from lazy, stupid parents the same as public schools. It's also vulnerable to poor curriculum, pedagogy and the usual plagues of the family social system. On the whole, though, HS’ers are dedicated, rigorous and effective (just like good teachers). The big difference is that HS’ers don't need to cope with other lousy parents, slacker colleagues, bad curriculum or government control to degrade their efforts.
In short. HS’ers are, by definition, actively involved in their children's education. They have the best of all worlds and that's exactly what good teachers wish they had in the PS classrooms - a free hand.
When something better comes along, I'll look it over, kick the tires and let somebody else’s kids test drive it.
I saw this time and time again when I used to teach in the public schools. If I was lucky, there was one other teacher who gave students the grades they deserved. Then a child with a D in my class would have a D in that other class and A's in everything else. I was shocked when I heard the first teacher in the lounge admit that he throws the papers in the trash and gives everyone an A. But over time, I came to understand that it was the inevitable result of unions and tenure. This year we are starting homeschooling our kindergartener. We love it!
I couldn’t agree more to everything you said. My kids went through the public schools, mostly because I felt like things in our district were still being (fairly well) handled—but it got pretty sketchy there at the end of my daughter’s last few years (she graduated in May of this year) with the liberal bias from a few of her high school teachers causing her some problems. If I had children now, I would probably homeschool—things are that bad. I don’t see how America survives with the education of our children being so poorly executed.