One solution for education in the US
 

Let parents pick the teachers to be hired. They do pay their salaries with their taxes, they should say who is hired. Otherwise it's just another form of taxation without representation

hmm....it would soon turn into local parents who got involved..versus those who didnt

so..soon after...less qualified teachers are teaching because of connections

I think teachers should be tested like students, those that don't pass the test should get replaced.

By your rationale every government employee would have to be hired by the people, from teachers to police to the janitor at city hall. I'm sure that would work out well.

actually maybe parents should be actively involved in their children's education and it doesnt matter who their teacher is. They did a study if the parents were active in their child's education, the child did well and it didnt matter where the kid went to school.

The students should vote on teachers, who stays and gets the bonus; and, who goes.....

The students know who is working and who is just a mean-ass slacker.

Actually they are. The people elected the officials who hire the people needed. Dont like who they hire vote in other people.

That's what it boils down to. Most kids walking into school are doomed before they start because of bad parenting.

Well the same applies to hiring teachers but that's not what the original poster meant now was it? He meant hiring them individually, thus my comparison.

LOL are you kidding? Only the most slacking worst teachers would be working then. There's a reason everyone loves substitutes and movie day..

IMO, this is a very bad method. Politicians are politicians, they have no idea who to hire besides their own friends and family.

I agree but its the system we have. Letting parents pick them would be a huge circle jerk.Everyone has their own agenda and most have nothing to do whats good for the kid.

A normal school board is not full of typical politicians. Normally its filled by local members of the community, usually people with an Education or Business background.

They hire the superintendent who then interviews the principal and teachers. The superintendent will have a Masters in education and one would think knows what they are doing. The prospective new hires are then reviewed by the school board and hired.

Considering the ingorance of most of the people around here I shudder at the results.

Ok so in the bible belt the parents hire the unqualifed Christian over the qualified athiest because he doesn't believe in God. Real smart move there.

*cough* Corruption.

A poor education system leads to a decline in the standard of living in most countries. eg. Dummies are more likely to get screwed by corporations, by their boss, by their government, by each other. Lack of education and a low quality culture leads to people knowing more about Lindsay Lohan than exploding government debt under BOTH George Bush and Obama.

Also the US has religion sticking it's ugly ass face into every aspect of society, in education you get those ass clowns in Texas trying to write evolution out of text books. What a fucking decline. Religion prays upon the ignorant, the opiate of the masses, so of course it hates education, reality, and rationalism.

Schools are already failing, what could be worse? It might be a circle jerk, but it at least it would work.

The school board doesn't hire the teachers directly either.