spent on salaries and benefits of school district personnel, not the students (Lieberman 51). Teacher unions also only seek benefits for themselves, not for the students. Teachers are also paid based on their schooling and years of experience, not on the quality of their teaching (Lieberman 57).In 1990, the George Bush administration set up the National Educational Goals that were to have been met by the year 2000. It stated that the high school graduation rate will increase to 90%; all students leaving grade four, eight, and twelve will have competency in English, mathematics, science, foreign languages, government and geography; the nation's teachers will have access to programs to improve their teaching skills; United States students will be first in the world in mathematics and science achievement; every adult will be literate and have necessary skills to function in today's economy; every school in the United States will be free of drugs, violence, firearms, and alcohol; and every school will promote parental involvement (Quiram 68). Yet it is true in fact that none of these goals have been completely achieved or even tackled by our school systems. The dropout rate for 1999 was 11.2%, which is still less than 90% of the students graduating (NCES). Students on the high school level on the average only complete 3.8 years of English, 2.5 years of math, .2 years of computer science, 2.9 years of social studies, 2.1 years of physical and biological science and .3 years of foreign language (Quiram 24). This is not nearly enough education to compete with today's foreign market. Many of the nation's public schools are still in horrible condition. In 1999, one quarter of school reported that at least one type of onsite building was in less than adequate condition. Half of schools reported that at least one building feature was in less than adequate condition. About four out of ten reported at least one unsatisfactory environment...
