The advice in the article talks specifically about the US, but I've seen the exact same issues come up in a lot of other countries (and to an extent other jobs

The advice in the article talks specifically about the US, but I've seen the exact same issues come up in a lot of other countries (and to an extent other jobs too). Good teachers need to be paid more, and for that to happen, normalized salaries should simply disappear. They look nice on the surface because you can pretend everybody is getting equal treatment, but the harsh reality is that people don't perform equally. I see the same issue first-hand in public healthcare: no matter how well (or poorly) you perform, you get compensated the same, which can considerably reduce incentives. Since this is generally organized through unions and collective agreements, there's also quite often considerable overheads associated with managing all of this. I think there should be base salaries that can then be re-evaluated based on performance, as a lot of other professions have done for a long time. (not saying unions themselves should go away, but I believe they should definitely rethink the approach) At least in public settings, a lot of parents need to stop acting like they're customers ("always right"). It always baffles me to see parents offload absolutely everything on teachers, including responsibilities that should at least be shared (e.g. sex education) or downright theirs (e.g. manners). I've seen parents blame teachers for their kid having a foul mouth or for beating up other kids and whatnot, if we expect teachers to do actual education, we can't have them also play cops, it's your responsibility as a parent. Parents who fail at this should also be educated, as part of the overall education program (I'll admit that identifying failure can be a hard one, though a lot of social programs do similar things). Not everybody needs to go to school until 18+, seriously. It doesn't help anybody, it spreads resources thin and it perpetuates the same stupid incentives (e.g. by extension, not everybody needs a college degree to end up being a manager at Starbucks...). Stop trying to push normalized education, it's a complete disaster. Not all teachers teach the same way, not all students learn the same way (and combinations thereof), not all regions have the same culture or the same needs, etc. and it's fine, let each class adapt as it needs to, just make sure you provide equal opportunities. I get the point of systematization for assessing grades on country-wide and international levels and such, but when we get to the point that tests have become the end-goal rather simply a control, we've messed up, badly. And I could go on... The state of Education as it is saddens me: the general population seems to assume schools will just take care of everything, teachers either end up simply not caring, burnt out or depressed (not necessarily exclusively) and many politicians have forgotten that there are actual people behind the numbers they've worked so hard to game. I firmly believe Education, once essential needs are met[0], is the biggest factor in a successful and caring society. If we spent a fraction of the money currently spent on fixing the after-effects of bad education (e.g. policing), we'd all be better off for it, on all fronts. [0] One could argue that basic education is essential to covering basic needs in the first place.