I agree re: homeschoolers. My lovely wife is the primary teacher in our family. I am the visiting math and science professor. LOL
Regarding my suggestions: I was approaching the issue as an engineering problem. Unfortunately, that does not account well for the people who are in and who run the system.
On further reflection, I believe that the only way the schools can be salvaged is for all of the adults involved to act out of purely altruistic motivations - which is against human nature, of course.
The following wouldn't cost the taxpayers a dime!
***Children should be allowed to take the GED, or similar private exam, at any age. If they pass, their local government high school issues them a standard state high school diploma. Having a standard high school diploma opens up opportunities for scholarships and loans for college and post high school education, and for admission to the military.
Allowing children to leave school early means fewer teachers are needed and schools can be consolidated and closed. The sale of unused school property can be used to fund the the existing deficits in government union pensions.
** Allow children to test out of subjects and courses at any age. If they pass third grade history or reading, they are immediately promoted to the next level in that specific subject. Exams should be private or government issued.
If children can progress through the system faster and leave earlier, fewer teachers and schools will be needed.
**Allow children of any age to take on-line courses ( private or government). These courses should be available all year. If a child finishes a course in a specific subject, then he is done, and is promoted to the next level in that specific subject. Government on-line courses require fewer government teachers, and little in the way of expensive buildings. This is a cost reduction to the tax payer and will allow the child to move through the system more quickly.
*** Move all sports, music, arts, and theater to the county departments of recreation. Many parents enroll their children in government schools because, especially in sports, the government is running a monopoly farm team for the big leagues. If their child is talented in athletics, using the government school is their **only** avenue to college sports scholarships and a possible big league position. Not only that, but the training is likely to be better. Maybe someone can explain this to me but why on earth would a history teacher be both a good history teacher and a good coach? Huh? How can anyone have divided passions like that?
By breaking the government monopoly on team sports some children simply would not choose government school as the setting for their education. Each child who is not in government school is a tax savings for the citizen.
Some variations of the above might include giving the child who finishes early a voucher for 1/3 of what would have been spent on them in government school. The voucher could be used at any time in their adult life for college or post high school technical training. This would provide an incentive for parents and children to get through the system early.
Another advantage to the above is that there would be a tremendous incentive for the parents to take charge of their own children's education by teaching the child themselves or by finding tutors. The vouchers for each year the child finishes early would help pay for college or post high school training.
Also,.. every extra year that an adult is NOT in school, but is instead WORKING, is worth a full year's salary! $30,000 to $100,000). Even one, two, or three extra years of working would go a long way toward paying ( in full) the cost of a house, for instance.
Isn't it about time, parents regained the self-confidence that our early American citizens had in teaching their own children? Isn't it about time that our children became proactive in their **own** educations as our early American children once were? As more parents and children rediscovered their innate ability to self-educate, perhaps we would see parents and children completely abandoning the government schools and moving entirely to homeschooling. ( Wow! What a savings that would be to the taxpayer!)
Why won't the above happen?
Answer: Government education is NOT about educating children. It **is** about providing a government jobs program for white collar workers of minimal creativity and ambition.