What do you consider to be necessary to provide a good education to American children?

We need to acknowledge that our current system is failing, and that throwing more money at it isn't the answer.

I think school choice would be one heck of a good start.

First and foremost : Educational excellence has to be rewarded, both on the students that achieve it, and the teachers that promote it. Merit pay for teachers, magnet schools, etc.

Second : Teachers Unions : They have to go, 100%. If a teacher sucks, they need to move on. Unions prevent this. They also have made teachers well paid and benefits are usually EXTREMELY excellent. No more. Too much CRAP as a result of your workings.

Third : Teachers : The ability to FIRE a teacher should reside FAR outside the UNION. The union protects the lemons.

Fourth : Challenge the kids, challenge the teachers, challenge the janitor, challenge everyone! The rewards may not be monetarily expensive, but the recognition of TRUE excellence goes beyond anything else.

Fifth : Make high school meaningful. Come on, most of this stuff is already learned (or not) by 8th grade. IF you want to waste 4 years instead of college, get a job and learn something in the real world.

Let's start with American children who want to be educated, who don't take going to school for granted. Next, let's make the school campus a place of learning and not a 6 hour social gathering. No more dressing like it's a day at the beach. It's time that adults were in charge of and set the tone of our schools. It's time to get rid of parental waivers for kids who are recommended for retention (being held back). It's really past time to remove the wall separating kids from adults. We don't let our older kids participate in the lives of the adults around them. We isolate our kids and then wonder why they take so long to grow up and take on responsibility.

It's time to make education a priority instead of sports, rides home, music lessons and all the other things we fill our kids' lives with.

Kids have 18 hours a day outside of school. The 6 hours (including lunch) we require them to sit and pay attention and participate isn't the torture they make it out to be.

Involved parents. I was shocked when my daughter transferred to a new school and the only parent organization was for the football team.

Competition, remove unions and hold teachers accountable

Daily tests, if you dont pass what was taught you stay after school. If the whole class is failing fire the teacher

Throwing money at the problem hasn't worked.

KILL the unions and pay for performance.

Test the teachers.

OH HELL NO! The test are RACIST!

teach the value of integrity .

Switch to wider belts.