Some of the world's most remarkable people are teachers. Some of these people provide extraordinarily high quality instruction under almost unbelievably trying circumstances. And yet, some who are paid to be teachers sit behind their desks, hand out ditto sheets, make assignments, and criticize young people for not being attentive. Education is a long-term proposition. From kindergarten through middle school, most students have at least a dozen teachers.
Schools can be a large part of the solution.
Education's in great shape. However, the very presence of unusually effective schools implies the existence of unusually ineffective schools. That downward spiral, repeated hundreds of times per year, includes appointing an administrator with little prior successful experience and even less training in working with students at risk. That principal should only visit classrooms in order to comply with state or local evaluation requirements. If such a person is placed in charge of a school serving an affluent community, beyond a point the community will push for the replacement of the principal.