How to Fix Education and Get Great Teachers?

Excellent post for any Educator-wanna-be.

Before you start reading this piece, you might want to ask yourself a few questions:
1. What makes a great teacher? Or a supremely skilled educator.
2. Can a supremely skilled educator really be trained or coached?
3. What kinds of remedial and effective trainings should be given to potentially great teachers who came unprepared?
4. Private education institutes seem to be comparatively more effective at outplacement than public ones. Why and how did they do it? Was it done correctly & professionally?
5. How to attract the best to teach in an all-time low-morale industry of educating? With low pay, declining respect and worsening conditions being top of the tongue topics.
6. How to make The School an EXCITING place to work?
7. What is Aggressive Recruitment of talented new teachers? Does it have to be aggressive and why?
8. How and who can improve our teachers' compensation system with our already constrained remuneration "source"? Any Compensation & Benefits Consulting Firm that could do this for us with minimal or no fee or with proven track record on value-for-money engagements?
9. Is there a foolproof system that can identify talented teachers in the system who is underutilized, over-utilized or struggling at any unknown reasons not under administrator's radar?
10. What did South Korea do right that made teaching a career of choice? How China, Japan & Finland created a culture that respects and recognizes teachers in this modern day of disregard?
11. How to effectively make great teachers accountable for their teaching performance? Is students' results still the most valid and viable assessment of teachers' performance?

Do advise and please do enjoy your read on Lessons of Hope - How to Fix Our Schools, by Joel Klein. =)

Suggested reading:
Pulse - Book Summary

How to Attract, Focus & Retain The Most Talented Teachers?

Is there a fool-proof formula to attract, focus on and retain the best teachers?
PS: Please DO NOT take the literal meaning of breaking all the rules in order to be an exceptionally good manager. You may want to skim through the book before you jump into the "face-value" conclusion. It meant to say there's no one best method to deal with all talents, which is contrary to most Management Books. 

With reference to The Gallup Organization's research in 1999, through First, Break All The Rules, written by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman; below are the 12 key questions you should ask yourself to identify if your company is doing a good job in attracting, focusing and retaining the most talented employees.

1. Do I know what is expected of me at work?

2. Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?

3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?

4. In the last 7 days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?

5. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?

6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?

7. At work, do my opinions seem to count?

8. Does the mission/ purpose of my company make me feel my job is important?

9. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?

10. Do I have a best friend at work?

11. In the last 6 months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress?

12. This last year, have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

Above 12 questions are the simplest and most accurate way to measure the strength of a workplace.

All the above 12 questions are copied to share from an inspiring Talent Handbook First, Break All The Rules, written by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, page 28.