[Sir Michael]

Magik - Thanks for the compliment, that was cool.

Kaz - I think a lot of the problem is that, as a society, we get what we pay for. Teachers don't make 6 figures like doctors and lawyers, so you are not going to get the highest quality people entering the teaching profession.

Also, people don't realize (I certainly didn't) that teaching kids is not like teaching adults where all you need is a pleasant personality and a knowledge of the subject. There is a lot more to it, some of which I'm learning now, but some of it will be on the job training, literally.

Heres another interesting tidbit: Our schools start at 9, 8, and 7 am for elementary, junior and senior high schools, respectively. We learned that high school students, because of brain chemistry CAN'T fall asleep before midnight most nights...so they get up very early, and are very tired at school, and their learning suffers. Its actually been shown that in other states where school days for high schoolers were made later, attendance, learning, grades and test scores all improved. What does our school district say? Something about how bus schedules can't be changed, and they can't do anything about the problem.