Replies

In a socialistic system – our current public educational structure - there is no competition; therefore there is no incentive for improvement or innovation. ******************* I don't see that there is no competition in the current system. We may be headed toward a situation where there is no competition, however. In some places, there is little competition because all the schools are at the bottom. Many factors make schools competitive. Some school districts can pay more $$$$ to recruit and keep the best teachers. (There are some fine teachers in public schools.) Some school districts are located in areas where the population has a higher education and income level, AND the parents there are more prone to pour extra money into the schools. I could go on and on, but I have to GO. I'll check back later. I must say that I am unsatisfied with many aspects of public education. We have pulled two of our children from public schools, and we are homeschooling them now. We have a few others attending public schools, and they do not appear to be suffering.

The competition that is sorely needed is between teachers. Instead of basing pay on say how many years a teacher has taught, base it on how well the students and parents are satisfied with the teacher. Base it on scores the kids make over several years, base salary on what a teacher can negotiate between the board and the individual. In this pay teachers could take back their professionalism. And the teachers union? (I think they would hate this idea.)