I just saw the movie "Waiting for Superman" and followed it with a spirited discussion. Some of the points that were raised were
1) What do we want our schools to do, anyway?
2) The movie focused on "high performance expectations" for students and teachers;
3) How do we measure outcomes?
4) Teachers unions are the "enemy."
5) "Education consists of reading, science, and math;
6) If you are a Teapublican, education is a myth, just like global climate change, evolution, the fact that the founders meant the Constitution to be rigid and fixed forever and ever, and, of course, the laws of gravity;
7) The current annual timetable of semesters and Summers off is an outdated relic of a time when we were primarily an agrarian society and needed the time off for farm duties; and
8) longer school days (which preclude other activities, like unstructured play) were a GOOD thing.

Catters, have at it!

Saul