On the issue of the deserving teacher, he needs more pay. Not to insult the man's character, but many of us work jobs we don't care for because the pay is as right as it is needed. Unfortunately, teachers rarely make what they should. We do need more teachers, but we also need to pay our existing teachers CONSIDERABLY more. The whole system needs a great deal of reform, but we need to start somewhere and spending government money in one of our most important sectors is would be a fine start. Still, something important to keep in mind is that we cannot make a system without flaws. We cannot eliminate all the bad teachers and principals and we cannot create a set of rules that will apply well to every hiring or firing occasion. We are all human, and thusly flawed. So no matter how many improvements we make to any system, there is always going to be something significant to complain about. I think sometimes people forget that. While we need to do more, we cannot make it perfect. Trying to would only serve to tie us in legal knots, and lay the groundwork for future troubles. Flexibility is an asset. Just ask our forefathers.