the problem with schools...

It is very easy today to point the finger at teachers and teachers unions for the dismal performance of students in the US and how far we have fallen in math and reading scores compared to other countries. Scapegoating is not the answer nor is it an accurate depiction of the problem.
I worked for the NYC department of education for 26 years. Are there bad teachers, bad counselors, social workers, psychologists etc? Of course-and this is true in other occupations as well. It is fair for me to say that that there were some of my colleagues who I wouldn't want working with a child of mine. There were others who were astounding in their ability to help the most difficult child and work with the most hostile of families. I knew people who sat in the "Rubber Rooms" for years-again some who should have been fired and others where the complaints were totally unfounded. I had one supervisor who could diffuse the most explosive,hostile situation with her presence. Others-make the same situation worse.
There is also a political atmosphere in each school that is determined by the building principal. One principal can make a building seem like heaven-another like being in hell. One principal maybe secure enough to listen to ideas-another can see disagreement as being insubordinate-which is a clear path to being fired. A good principal can make a new teacher love his career-another could end the new teacher's career very quickly. People complain about overpaid teachers. A masters degree in teaching does not get the same salary return as masters in other occupation. As a female dominated field, the inherent sexism is not surprising. Many teachers don't make it through their first years, others don't make tenure. Tenure is not given to teachers. It is earned. I want to see how many of the critics of teacher would last one week in a classroom..try one day.
there is the issue of kids not being prepared to be in school. Many come to school hungry. Some come to school from chaotic situations where school is their only respite. I have seen children come to DOE offices drinking soda and munching on chips. One source of frustration for me over the years, is seeing children sitting in the lobbies of education offices with Walkmen,cell phones, video games etc. I couldn't give books away.. There is an anti-intellectual atmosphere in our culture, where the bright kid is teased and called a "Geek". We tend to glorify sports and entertainment figure who couldn't conjugate the verbs or speak in complete sentences if you spotted them the vowels. The general coarsening of the culture by music and what passes as literally work today is another factor. There are people who read online who don't know the difference between: their, they're and there.
There are several solutions that will probably meet Resistance from many sources. President Obama is right-the school year should be longer. Classroom sizes should be smaller and a real investment in education, not just lip service should be made. Another source of revenue-not property taxes should be used for schools so the kid in Mississippi has the same chance as the kid in Westchester.
We also need to expand the pool of candidates who can become teacher-those who come from other backgrounds. By today's licensing rules, Bill Gates couldn't teach in most cities. The sucess of charter schools are also a myth. The clamour for vouchers just takes money away from public school where they are the most needed.

There are lots of things that have contributed to the decline in education in the United States.No one is blameless here. Demonizing teachers and the people who protect dedicated teachers is not going to make things any better. We are all at fault.