How To Create Better Schools? Get Better Teachers?

The fix for public schools has often swung a bat at teachers rather than for teachers. Here's another article that may be interesting to consider:

ARNE DUNCAN, the secretary of education, recently called for sweeping changes to the way we select and train teachers. He’s right. If we really want good schools, we need to create a critical mass of great teachers.

Nice sentiment, but until teachers are paid an attractive wage, I'm not certain there will be enough bait in the mix to persuade great people toward the profession.

Just compare how much Barry Bonds was getting paid to swing a bat each time he was at bat with how much teachers are paid annually and you will see what's really broken in our society. People are much more willing to shovel buckets of cash for entertainment than they are for something wholly necessary, like high quality education for every one.

The California current fiscal calamity is Q.E.D. Clearly, the good people of the great state of California have abandoned the notion of public education as a public good. If the opposite were the case, they would be willing to put their money where their mouth is.