I think we should focus more on "showing" rather than "telling." For example, mathematics. The majority of that is taught by a boring lecture and bookwork. How often have you heard kids whine, "When am I ever going to use algebra in real life?!" Well, if you actually get them up and SHOW them how it pertains to real life then I think they can catch on. Take them out and measure the square footage of the school football field instead of drawing on a piece of paper. Do you teach art and music by standing up and lecturing and expecting the kids to do it on their own? No, you get them a paintbrush or an instrument and they learn as they go, by DOING.
We each first graders their numbers by counting on their fingers and adding/subtracting with actual building blocks or something. It shouldn't stop there. It should go all the way to fractions, decimals, algebra, calculus, etc....

Also, I've noticed that schools in my city have a curriculum for Gifted and Talented kids, and in every one they boast how the program is very "hands-on." As in, the kids go outisde and do experiments, get out of their desks and use their knowledge for real-life activities. I mean, really? You give the fun stuff to smart kids who probably wouldn't mind learning from a book in the first place but you can't do the same for the "regular" kids? It doesn't have to be as rigorous as you would for a G&T kid, but I think every student deserves to apply learning to the real world. And people are wondering why the schools' scores are low.

I wouldn't. I guess in Asia that became the main method of natural selection since there isn't much to go on. As for people themselves... well we need stupid uneducated people in society as well.

Make higher education free with a focus on technical institutions.
Eliminate majors in liberal arts institutions.

all religions are taught.
ethics is a manditory lesson.
people can be put into detention for saying stupid comments, so to teach them to only speak when they have something intelligent to say.
economics is the main core of maths.
music is removed from the manditory lessons, so is drama.
school goes on from 11 until 5.

In my case, I would like to see more rhetoric in our curriculum as opposed to simply memorization. I know the tests are more difficult that way but for me, topics leave a more lasting impression because the mind is being made to work and figure things out as opposed to simply just soaking up information that may be forgotten after the test has passed.

That and teachers who work in public schools ought to be paid more (i.e. given more value). That can partially ensure quality education for all socio-economic levels

Well, I'd probably first try and conduct a study on different school systems in different nations and examine what could possibly work in my nation's school system. (Although this perhaps has already been done before, I'm not sure). I'd probably review an alternative to the pure "tenure system" for the teachers at non-college levels (perhaps make it more possible to fire bad teachers, but have guidelines in place so that this isn't overly abused). Reviewing the credentials needed for teaching (and perhaps raising them) could also help. Getting rid of the "No Child Left Behind" policy could be good too. Look into increasing funding, perhaps creating a board that reviews textbooks and teaching materials (that is on the national level...unless this exists already?).

I'd still continue to encourage the cooperative environment that seems to be the norm in a lot of U.S. schools, however. I don't feel like the competitive nature seen in many of the Asian schools is particularly healthy or useful.

Finally, I'd probably inspect some of the cultural mentalities behind schooling in different nations, because I do sometimes wonder if that is part of where the problem lies. Doing all of these things to help the school system could help, but not if we have a lot of kids who find it a waste of time to learn.

I think most people already know the main problem with the American education system. There is a huge discrepancy between the quality of education in wealthy and poor districts. You can actually receive a relatively good education in the United States if you go to the right school. But I've heard some ridiculous stories from schools in bad districts. Teachers almost never teach. Textbooks that are outdated. A curriculum so watered down that students can pass simply by showing up.

The curriculum is dumbed down to keep graduation rates up. Teachers teach to standardized tests to keep test scores up. Many colleges carry the banner of low standards by passing these same students through in an effort to collect tuition dollars, especially as government grants become more scarce. Employers are all aware of this and have to search for alternative methods of weeding out unqualified applicants.

Students pick up on the cheapening of their education and realize that they won't necessarily get a job through with a diploma and degree in hand. This leads many to have less of an incentive to focus on education. This creates a destructive cycle.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are a whole range of other problems. But education inequality and lowered standards are the primary cause.

Sometimes (or most of the time) teachers are easily irritated that they vent their frustration on a select few students, such as when they're talking while they're teaching, they can't help but whine "THAT'S IT, OFF TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE!" or "IF YOU KEEP MAKING THAT NOISE, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE DETENTION FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR!"

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I think it would help if schools could be able to focus on the different learning styles rather than trying to get all of the students to learn with one style or swapping out styles.

I think a problem, in Texas, is funding. Our governor doesn't seem to value education as much as he should. I would have more taxes go to education, among other public institutions.

Teachers should start each course by building upon a conceptual foundation first. For example, instead of telling math students to just memorize a bunch of incomprehensible formulas -- and then attempt to blindly "apply" them -- they should initially explain how that formula came about: what its inherent logic and practical use is in the real world.

Another good example would be to use modern-psychological/mnemonic techniques for difficult material: such as having students "picture" a word that they need to memorize or learn to spell -- as if the word consisted of giant bold letters floating in front of them. Trying to teach them to spell "phonetically" is a joke! As Richard Bandler (founder of NLP) would say, "You can't even spell [the word] 'phonetics' phonetically!"

Oh, yeah...and in some cities -- like Chicago -- it would help the youngsters "retain" what they've learned by providing them with bullet-proof vests!

I'd say that I'd put better teachers in altogether. I hate it when they hire stupid teachers who don't care if their students get and A or an F, who don't teach at all, and just want the money!

The first step into revolutionizing any part of society is giving more power to the majority. Let the students tell their teachers what they want to learn, rather than the other way around: being indoctrinated by the government and the bourgeoisie that operate both the public and private educational systems.