Would the best way to smarten up the lagging US education system be to outsource...

[How do you like me now?]

...the teaching to Asia?instead? of lengthening the days with the teachers that haven't been doing a good job to begin with? Longer days would use alot more energy.
Heck, the savings in salaries alone would reduce the Fedral deficit in half within 25 years.
Fedral=Federal
Do you realize that this is another payback to the unions.Longer days more =more demands answered

 

[vivi]

There are a lot of issues at stake. Unions always protect the competent along with the lazy/incompetents. Government involvement has also created a lot of administrative busy work for educators which is time consuming and constrains lesson planning. However, I'm not sure another country would care whether they adequately taught ours. School choice would be a better option. That being said, I grew up in a generation where Animal Farm, 1984 and Alas Babylon were required reading in our public schools.

 

[conspiracy theorist]

homeschooling is the answer. they're your kids, not some politicians. You send your kids to the government indoctrination camps and then wonder why there are so many "liberals" who love the government. duggghhhhh!

 

[future]

Education expenses are actually surprisingly SMALL part of the US budget if you look at the pie chart.

 

[route66_hustler]

Simple fix...unions out, paddles in.

 

[John]

Time to shorten the length of Presidency's when Rocket scientist like Obama take over.

 

[Justine]

Dismantle and eradicate the US Dept of "so called " Education and ban the teachers unions from public schools. Or at least ban teachers unions from making monetary contributions to political parties.