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As a Floridian who teaches, I want to add my two cents. Though I do not work at a public school, I think I understand it fairly well. Why do I not work in the public school system? Well, some of the schools around here can be VERY scary and my local district is nutso.
1.) Shake things up a bit.
I have to agree with dzsaigirl on this point. We've all seen the horrible teachers, but we also know that if they do nothing short of incompetence or immorality there is nothing that we can do to get rid of them once they achieve tenure. Some people are picture perfect examples of what a teacher should be until they become tenured and then they start slacking off slowly but surely.
2.) Mandatory APPROPRIATE testing.
This goes along with what kdonline was saying. True, we do have tests that teachers must pass in order to warp young minds, but what are they actually testing? This is a big issue to me because I just finished taking my subject area examination and it asked questions that had to be at least as old as I am.
I know there are big differences between elementary education and mathematical majors, but it would seem like we could get independant reviewers to make sure the information being asked on all of the exams is pertinent.
3.) Teachers need incentives.
"So, let me get this straight. You want me to quit my job where I make $50,000 a year to become a beginning teacher and make maybe $28,000? HAH! That's a good one."
Something has got to be done to attract the best and brightest to our classrooms. We all know the three best reasons to teach are June, July and August, but that doesn't help when you have to pay the bills. I'm not just saying this because I am an educator; it's the reaction I get when I tell people I teach. If we can lure teachers either to come to Florida or encourage college students to join the profession, there is no way we will ever be able to lower the average classroom size.
4.) Find someone who actually WANTS to be the Commissoner of Education.
Everyone has been using this post as a political stepping stone and not really giving it the attention it deserves.
5.) Restructure the DOE.
I think this is self-explanatory. It's gotten too large and doesn't work efficently anymore.
6.) Make local districts accountable
Again, this is self-explanatory.
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