The "Right" Thing

A reply to my last post got me thinking, what is the "right" thing for education? Educators have, for too long, allowed the larger culture to make the profession of teaching seem to be a position that anyone who can't do anything else can do. It isn't true. If you follow the running commentary about what will fix our schools and then you go back twenty years you will find a similar lament. Go back thirty, same thing. Maybe the fundamental issue is that schools need a fundamental overhaul. For consideration:
1. Hire a financial person to deal with the dollars and cents, true educators don't really get all excited about budgets, salaries, m & r, etc.
 2. Hire one business leader (chief executive officer) to guide educator teams in return on investment, technology use and misuse, public relations, liaison with supporting corporations, universities or local businesses who have a vested interest in the quality of product being produced.
3. End the agricultural model school year. Planting and harvesting have not influenced most students lives in forty years. Adopt a school year that best suits the local student needs (I always want to study the year around model of 9 weeks on 3 weeks off with remedial opportunities during two of the three weeks).
4. Consider ending the five day school week for most subjects; Social Studies and English classes would meet three days face to face with technology being used to keep contact the other days. Science, Math, and Vocational classes would meet at least four days. All students are required to take a basic vocational program. Fifth day, grading the increased writing that all would perform, committees, parent conferences, tutoring those who are struggling, the list for this is endless.
5. Teacher teams would run the day to day school operations. Service in every capacity of school governance would be shared. Compensation would come in a reduced teaching load during their 2-3 year rotation of "school leadership." Membership on the leadership teams would not be allowed until a teacher had demonstrated outstanding skills in teaching and leadership. Graduate level coursework in education and business would be mandated. Minimum of ten years classroom experience. NO permanently leaving the classroom. All those making any decisions about the school must be serving in the classroom. Simply put, you quickly forget what the day to day struggle of teaching can do to your energy. No more leaving the classroom, you wanted to teach....teach.....you may be a skilled leader.....opportunities will come to do both. This is where I always return to my good friend, Sean O'Laughlin. He was one of the best teachers I have observed and now he is a building principal. He will be outstanding but he should still be teaching one class of U.S. History each and every semester. Those twenty-five to thirty students would forever be grateful.
6. Outstanding teachers would be rotated in and out of local teacher prep universities. They would handle all instruction pertaining to lessons, discipline, and the art of instruction. To give a clue as to this problem, I was just asked by the local teaching university to place two student teachers in my department for next year. Both students had D's in their major. We are not in a day and age where any student should be entering education where D's are a part of their grades let alone where D's are a part of their major.
Okay, parts 1-6 are roughed out. Tear it up.