The problem comes with how elementary schools are structured here (at least the ones in the district where I teach). If you even have enough teachers for each t

The problem comes with how elementary schools are structured here (at least the ones in the district where I teach). If you even have enough teachers for each teacher to only have one grade (i.e. no split classes), they've got one teacher teaching each class until 4th or 5th grade. So you have the same teacher teaching history, science, math and language arts. This person probably struggled with math and often shuddered at the thought of the math portion of the Praxis test to become certified. They don't know how to do the math, but, because of how elementary schools are taught, you can't just hire a math teacher to teach math to all the students. Personally, I could easily see the benefits of shifting the students to a schedule where you went to a math class, taught by someone who knows math (i.e. the best math students), at the very beginning. It would also help because you could then make it where someone who is good at teaching, say, history, doesn't have to worry about passing a math content exam. Or at least one as in-depth as the math teacher. But, you also have to attract people to teaching. It's a thankless job, and, in my state, they're currently under attack on pension reform and pay and such. Our governor wants to remove mandatory sick days, for instance. And he wants to guy the pension. Or, he'll keep it all and gut all these other programs and then blame it on the teachers. Public education in the US as a whole is under attack, and that's part of the problem of getting the best math teachers. I'd be willing to bet Finland doesn't have to deal with the issue of charter schools like is currently happening in the US, either.