I was a school teacher in many places, including Summit County. I loved teaching and was good at it. I quit in Frisco when there was no student accountability.

Public education has always been one of my major interests. I have ten suggestions that could greatly improve our schools without costing the taxpayer much, if anything. One is to make students accountable.

Kids aren’t dumb. Why work when you don’t have to? They can play hooky, and there is no penalty — no accountability.

My suggestion is maybe in fifth grade, you explain to all the students that they will be accountable. You test all students on their ability or potential in each subject. The students who are not working up to their potential, or are just coasting (an A student getting a “gentleman’s C”) must be tutored on Saturdays. Guess who pays for the tutor? He or she has to work the following week, for the town or county, to earn money to pay the tutor. Guess how many weekends they will be working?

I noted that Bruce Butler’s parents made him accountable for a low grade. 

Most parents today are so busy and stressed that they don’t have time to deal with a delinquent kid (see my article on Army brats, to be published soon). Most kids today are Army brats.

As a taxpayer, I view a student’s waste of teacher time as serious as a broken window.  If a kid breaks a window, everyone agrees that the parent must pay. But what about the waste of the teacher’s time, the utility bill, the cost of the school building, maintenance, etc. Holding kids accountable might even result in adults being accountable.