Sage Advice: How Would You Save Public Education?

1. Raise Teacher Salaries

I Am Entrusted With Guiding The Minds And Futures Of Hundreds Of Students Each Year, And Society Wants To Make Me Accountable For Students' Performance Like A Manufacturer Is Responsible For The Quality Of Its Products. However, The System Doesn't Want To Compensate Me In Any Reasonable Way For The Sometimes 60-Hour Workweeks Or The Six Figures I Spent, And Am Still Spending, On My Own Education.

Mike Williams

Professor, New Mexico Junior College, New Mexico

The Babysitting Service Teachers Provide Is Worth $150/Hour: 30 Students Per Hour @ $5/Hour.

Virginia Malone

Retired Teacher, Hondo, Texas

Level The Playing Field By Paying All Teachers, Regardless Of The District Where They Are Employed, The Same Salary As The Highest-Paying District In The State. Only Then Will You Attract Well-Qualified Teachers To The Lower-Performing Schools And Districts.

Yvonne Moulton

English Teacher, Thornton Junior High School, Fremont, California

Pay Teachers Better. Society Does Not Balk At Paying Lawyers, Dentists, And Doctors What They Deserve, And By The Way, How Did Those Professionals Get To Be What They Are? Teachers Taught Them.

Theresa Mcabee

Social Studies Teacher, Lewis County High School, Weston, West Virginia

2. Reduce Class Size

1. Reduce Class Size.
2. Reduce Class Size.
3. Reduce Class Size.
4. Reduce Class Size.
5. Reduce Class Size.

Steve Freese

Sixth-Grade Teacher, South View Middle School, Edina, Minnesota

The Best, Most Thorough Education Cannot Be Done By 1 Teacher In A Class Of 150 (Or More) Students. If Those Were Betting Odds, You'd Look For Another Horse.

Clay Wright

Principal, Graham, Texas

Reduce Class Size To Less Than 20 For Grades K-3 And Less Than 25 For Grades 4-12. Teachers Would Be Able To Spend More One-On-One Time With Students And Have More Time To Evaluate Student Work And Assess Progress. This Would Also Alleviate Overcrowding Issues And Classroom Management Challenges. I Think This Is The One Change That Could Remarkably Improve Our Public School System (And Test Scores, If That's The Current Measure).

Aura Smithers

Edendale Middle School, San Lorenzo, California

Smaller Class Size Allows Teachers To Know Their Students Better, And Hence Teach Them Better. In A Class Of 15, A Teacher Will Know Her Students' Individual Needs Much More Than In A Class Of 30. Children Fall Through The Cracks More Easily When Teachers And Administrators Don't Even Know Their Names.

Sarah Mcmane

English Teacher, Tappan Zee High School, Orangeburg, New York

3. Decrease Standardized Testing

Stop Teaching The Students How To Take Standardized Tests. There Are No 'standard' Problems In The Real World. Students Need To Know How To Understand And Solve Real-World Problems Using Basic And Advanced Skills In The Areas Of Math, Science, Language, And History.

Billy E. Smith

North Harris Montgomery Community College District, The Woodlands, Texas

Stop The Nonsense Of High-Stakes Testing. Using Only Test Scores To Determine Overall School Effectiveness Is Ludicrous. The Emphasis Of High-Stakes Testing Is On Reading And Math, While Other Subjects Are Being Neglected.

Dr. Irving Leung, Coordinator

Project Pipeline, Alameda, California

Educate The Whole Child. Accountability And Testing Is Just One Facet Of A Child's Total Education. America Has Become So Crazed With Test Preparation, Teaching To The Test, Standards And Benchmarks, Grade-Level Equivalents, School Report Cards, And District Report Cards, That We Have Lost The Joy And Creativity That Engages Young Learners.

Jackie Daniilidis, Principal, Estelle Elementary School, Louisiana

4. Increase Parental Involvement

How Do The Two Groups Of People That Care The Most About Kids-Parents And Teachers-End Up In Hostile And Unproductive Relationships? Schools That Value Parents Reap A Win For Everyone. With Students Expected To Achieve At Higher Levels And Schools Having To Do More With Less, Parents Are Greatly Needed As Allies And Supporters.

Carol Edelen

Community Support Coordinator, Prichard Committee For Academic Excellence, Lexington, Kentucky

While Our Teachers Are Human And Far From Perfect, Most Of Them Are Very Dedicated. The Big Problem Is Parents. We Need A Law That Demands Parental Involvement In Education. The Law Would Require School Districts To Offer Workshops On Parenting A Student, Understanding The Curriculum, The Role Of The Parent, And The Role Of Discipline In A Student's Life. If Parents Had Some Understanding Of What Goes On In School They May Be More Motivated To Assist In The Education Of Their Children. Remember, Students Spend About 18 Hours A Day At Home And Just 4 To 6 Hours In Instruction At School.

Ben Casados

Educational Consultant, Huntington Beach, California

Parents Must Understand That They Are The First And Most Important Teachers Of Their Own Children. They Need To Realize That They Are A Central Force In Their Children's Education.

Monica M. Sajn

Language Arts Teacher, Scott Middle School, Hammond, Indiana

5. Educate The Legislators About The Schools

Put Education Back In The Hands Of Education Professionals. Get Rid Of Bureaucrats Who Have Themselves Created The Idea Of "Saving Public Education."

John C. Davidek

Social Studies Teacher, Flint Southwestern Academy, Flint, Michigan

Require School Board Members To Participate In Effectiveness Training So They Can Understand How School Systems Are Run And How The Education Process In Their Classrooms Actually Works.

Jerry T. White

Superintendent Of Schools, North Haven, Maine

Require Legislators To Spend A Month Teaching Before Seeking Public Office.

Beth Bauchman

7th Grade Social Studies Teacher, Texas

Make It Mandatory For All Elected Officials To Send Their Own Children To Public Schools.

Gloria Piraino

English Teacher, Benjamin Cardozo High School, Bayside, New York

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More...

1. Highlight The Best In Public Education And Champion It: Education Is Enriching.
2. Understand That Families Move Frequently, Then Plan For A Transient Population: Education Is Flexible.
3. Make The Neighborhood School An Active Center Of Community Life: Education Is Pervasive.
4. Find An Equitable Funding Model And Fund It: Education Is Expensive.
5. Give Teachers Time To Plan, And Give Students Time To Play: Education Is Joyous.

Michael Mcvey

Clinical Associate Professor, University Of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

Have 30 To 40 Percent Of The Curriculum Occur Outside The School Building. Use Life Experiences To Teach And Enforce Concepts: The Easiest Way To Learn And Understand Trigonometry Is To Build A House. The Best Way To Learn About Nature Is To Observe It, Measure It, And Capture It With Your Own Two Hands.

Steve Smiley

Computer Science Teacher, Seguin High School, Arlington, Texas

Public Education Must Focus On High-Quality Preschool Programs Or, Better Yet, Prenatal Programs. These Programs Need To Include Family-Support Services That Include Child Psychologists And Social Workers. Often, Well-Meaning Parents Need Direction And Support As Much As Their Children Do In Order To Stop Perpetuating Generations Of Education Failure.

Kenneth Kay

Instructional-Learning Specialist, Widener University, Narberth, Pennsylvania

De-Emphasize School Athletics To Give Equal If Not Greater Emphasis To Performance In Music, Art, Math, Writing, And Reading. The Team Concept Is Just As Important In Music, And Creative Skills Are More Useful In Life Than Athletic Skills.

Walter Lowe

English Instructor, Green River Community College, Auburn, Washington

Remove The Connection Between Local Property Tax And Local Funding Of Schools By Providing Money Through Statewide Pooled Property Tax (Or Through Income Or State Taxes). Associating Funding With Local Property Tax Automatically Leads To Inequities And To A Vocal Constituency Against Both Teachers And Education Funding.

John J. Hetts

Assistant Professor, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri

Shut Down Every Public School In The Nation And Reconstitute Them As Follows:

One. Bulldoze Every Building Not Architecturally Designed As A Proper 21st-Century Place For Learning: That Is Any Building That Can House More Than 400 Students In Four Grades And Has Traditional Classroom Space. The Concept Of School Needs To Be Totally Redesigned From The Ground Up. Then, Build The New Structures.

While That Is Taking Place: Two. All Teachers, Principals, Curriculum Specialists, Superintendents, And Professors Need To Learn How To Really Teach By Learning From Those Who Can Model Good Instruction. Parents Can Get Reacquainted And Develop A Meaningful Relationship With Their Children.

Three. Reconstitute The Places For Learning With A Balance, Reflecting The Community The School Services And Avoiding Missionary Or Limousine-Liberal Approaches. While This Change Is Occurring, Reverse The Blatant Segregation Found In Most Communities.

Four. Hold Every Student, Parent, Teacher, And Principal Accountable For The Most Rigorous Program By Demanding That Students Demonstrate The Value-Added Knowledge Gained In Their Learning. Do This While Making The Learning Relevant, Interesting, Fun, And Exciting. Create A Thirst For New Knowledge In Everyone Involved In The Process.

Five. Celebrate Every Success With Joyous Activities While Learning From The Setbacks And Turning Them Into Successes.

I Say This As A Retired High School Principal And Teacher With More Than 35 Years Of Wonderful Experiences In Education And 20-Plus Years Of Hell As A Student.

William Pollock

School-Improvement Specialist, Coach, And Adviser, Somerset, New Jersey

Do Away With Tenure. The Teachers I Would Hire Would Have To Pass Through An Intense Screening. If They Did Not Believe In Problem-Based, Project-Based Learning, They Would Not Be Hired. The Schools Would Be Run More Like A Company: If You Are Not Doing Your Job, Based On Several Evaluations, You Would Be Fired. If There Were Teachers At Any School Who Did Not Like Their Jobs, They Would Be Out Of The Building.

Susan Mcconville

School Consultant And Educator, Raleigh, North Carolina

Since this round's Sage Advice question attracted the wisdom of such a crowd, we've also created a PDF file of additional responses we received (152 KB). (Responses may have been edited for length and clarity.)