Catherine, I will certainly check out the book you suggested. Here is a fascinating article that further illuminates the Chinese/American math disparity.

Thank you all so much for all these wonderful, thoughtful responses. I intentionally left my questions somewhat open ended so as to illicit a well-rounded group of responses. Now I can reveal... (my opinion follows for those who are interested) that it is my hope to prove with my thesis that tenure, is, if nothing else, a bad PR move on the part of public schools, and there are other systems which would be more beneficial to students and at least as beneficial to quality teachers.

Thank you, Susan, that was very helpful!

A dressing table?

Hello, I am a graduate student in public adminstration with an emphasis on education. For my thesis, I am beginning to gather information on so-called alternatives to traditional public education. (Charter schools, private/parochial, homeschooling/private tutoring, etc.) Because I am surrounded by education students and professors, I am intentionally seeking other views. While this is still a very informal process, I would benefit greatly from the opinions of homeschooling parents. If this goes well, I may return with other questions, but today I am interested in hearing this board's members thoughts on the tenure system. Do you think it's good or bad? Why? Do you believe it impacts the quality of K-12 public schooling? If yes, positively or negatively? Do you have any thoughts on merit pay for teachers, either as an addition or a replacement for the tenure system? Did tenure in any way play a part in your decision to homeschool your children? Any and all responses are most appreciated. Feel free to not answer these questions if you have something else to say. Thank you very much, MKS.