The Failure of the American Education System

Stranger in a Strange Land - A Slightly Twisted View of American Politics and Society "John Stossel: My New Hero" A nice review of a John Stossel segment on the state of American Education. The lack of accountability (read that the lack of competition), and some nice comparisions with other school systems - Belgium being one.

Wrap your mind around this incredible fact.

In the NYC school district, the school board had to continue to pay a self-acknowledged sex offender (the teacher was sending graphic sexual emails to a 16-year-old student, and ADMITTED it!) for six years, more than $300K, while the district jumped through the hoops of the teacher's union rigid and unforgiving contract. They have four so-called "rubber rooms" in NYC, costing the taxpayers more than $20 million a year to house teachers that are so deviant (sexual offenders, abusive teachers, racists, teachers who showed up to teach intoxicated) that although the school board cannot fire them, they would rather pay them to sit in empty auditoriums than let them anywhere near the children.

Can't expect to have teachers ranked on merit. Hell we can't even seem to fire the ones that are so bad we don't want to let them near a classroom.

Competition MUST come to public education in America.