So a few things improvements I'd like to see in public education:
A. Rigorous standards and testing. And I have no problem with evaluating teachers and students on this. The problem right now is that the tests aren't rigorous enough and students have zero incentive to do well on them. Literally, the only tests we have in the K12 level that matter are SAT and ACT tests. By 11th and 12th grade, students are too far along the path to make significant changes. I'd like to see much higher standards and rigorous testing beginning at the middle school levels. School should mean more than flirting with girls and football games.
* Sidenote, I'd like to see less testing at the elementary levels. I feel like this should be the exploratory years for kids.
B. You cannot request more out of students without requesting more out of teachers. Drastically increase the standards for teachers, require far more observation time, and increase their salaries. Currently, education programs are some of the easiest to get into. That shouldn't be. Education programs typically have student teaching at the end of their programs. This should change. Candidates should have to spend weeks observing classrooms to determine if teaching is really what they want to do. Finally, based on their salary, (most) teachers in Utah qualify for food stamps and Medicaid. And we wonder why we have a shortage?
C. Change the focus from extra-curricular to academics. As a nation, we'll spend millions on football stadiums yet don't seem to care that there are 35+ to a classroom full of diverse students who don't speak English. Compare Corner Canyon's High School Stadium to Brighton High School's... School. Ummmmm...
D. Greatly re-emphasize the focus on the arts. I don't think only emphasizing Math, Science, and Language Arts is the answer. I do believe (and there's some research to support this strong opinion of mine) that the performing arts and liberal arts are crucial to developing critical thinking and writing skills and enriching a student's experience. We've seen over the past decade a surge in student anxiety and depression. Could re-emphasizing these areas help stop this trend? Or at least minimize its effects?
E. As a society being more accountable. Too many deadbeat parents dump off their kids at schools hoping that the school will raise them. That's... Not the role of a school. While I think over the past 50 years we've seen advancements in access to education (especially for minorities), I do believe that too little involvement (from all demographics) is leading to a system that caters to students and to every complaint they have. We see this especially on college campuses where students feel like professors are customer service agents rather than quality control. Snowflake students feel like they can shut down speakers, get professors fired for teaching something they don't agree with, or freak out inappropriately over the tiniest things. While I don't necessarily agree with Trump's executive order, I do agree with the notion of free speech on college campuses. If you don't agree with someone, don't go. But let them speak.
Time for us to put our big boy/girl pants on and understand that public education is an opportunity to better oneself. It's not daycare nor is it spring break in Cancun. Teachers aren't pinatas, professors aren't your slaves, high school isn't daycare, and college isn't Animal House. Don't like it? Well, Walmart is hiring!