I don't think it's realistic to even consider dismantling the public education system, although I have some strong, and some mixed, feelings about what I have seen, experienced, and read about lately. There has been a lot written about lack of achievement in many public schools, and from what I can see, despite the whole No Child Left Behind program (which is a whole other issue initself), public schools really need a basic overhaul. My comments here are based both on direct personal experience as a substitute in the local (Chester/Berks Counties, PA) school district, as well as having read a lot (mostly in conservative publications, but in a few liberal as well). Even though I consider the district I sub in as pretty old-line in its thinking with respect to values and curriculum, the school adminbistrations in two of the schools I teach in seem to have progressive outlooks (which in practice amounts to making bad decisions about how to teach classes), which in practice really upsets the teachers who are really comitted to imparting useful knowledge to the kids. The principal and assistant principal in the middle school believe that basics, such as spelling, correct grammar, and individual work (they like group work) are not important - it drives the teachers nuts. Surly would be an apt word to describe the mood of many of the teachers with respect to the marching orders they have to comply with. The elmentary school I sub in has an entirely different management philosophy - the principal there believes in the basics and works very harmoniously with the teachers. This was reflected by the fact that the school won the Pennsylvania state literacy award just a few months ago - the kids read and reported on more books than any other school in the state, and were really proud of the fact. OK, these are personal experiences, admittedly limited, but even given a basically old time philosophy at the worker bee level, things are sad from sixth grade on. Also, in a much more general sense, there have been a lot of studies that prove, statistically, that most private schools scholastically outperform public schools by a wide margin, and at a much lower cost per pupil. Sure, they have their agendas, as one rater commented, but fortunately a large part of the agenda is to educate the kids rather than just cycle them through and proclaim them qualified after 12 years of mediocre schooling. Short version of my feelings (after the long-winded preface!): The public school system is necessary and is here to stay, but it needs a serious overhaul and needs to get back to basics.