Thoughts on Education

My take on few aspects of education in general based on what I heard being discussed in the US Media.

• Quality of Teachers in General is decreasing. (Meaning our kids are not getting that good teachers as we used to get).

• One factor for this notion becomes obvious if you think about where the "cream crop" of a  generation goes out to work for. In the generations of my parents and their parents, teaching was one of the most sought after jobs of the learned. The cream from the top educational institutions voluntarily took up teaching career. It was very well respected and the earning, compared to those days' standards wasn't bad. I come from a family of teachers on both sides. My father, his father, my mother, her sister and brother and the list goes on and on. My mom was a university gold medalist and opted for teaching for good or bad. Now-a-days the "Cream of the crop" from top institutions opt for lucrative greener pastures outside of teaching. I attended a decent undergrad school and my colleagues at work are from good schools. In all of my network, only 2 people I know of my age ventured into teaching line, every one else is in industry - either engineering or management. So, essentially the entire teaching profession is left to the next-in-line for that generation. Don't get me wrong here, there are good teachers. But I am talking about the big picture. Here I am not differentiating school or colleage education.
• Public Schools funding by the states is dwindling (here in the US). 
• I agree that the developed nations boast a "free education for all" social setup. But with the  unprecedented economic situation being faced by states like California (tax revenue dwindling from weak economy and a huge budget deficit), its not too late for them to swallow some pride and re-assesses the situation. Rather than trying to fund a schooling system from an already over-stretched budget and paving way for teacher lay-offs etc, why don't they just make the parents pay some nominal fees for their kids' education. It will do good in lot of ways. Say $10 a month or so per student. Helps a long way in maintaining the teachers jobs, students benefit. Just because the parents are paying out of their pockets, they wont take the system for granted, will want to know what their kids are up to, introduces some accountability and might even reduce the ridiculous school drop out ratio as parents would make sure their kids make use of their money. I don't think this small amount will break any parents' home finance budget. There are about 6 million school kids in CA and right there we have $60 million. and I meant, $10 for starters. 
• High Cost of Text books affecting college students (here in US again)
• This is ridiculous. Even when I was a grad student, I noticed this. The same text book comes in a hard-covered glossy-paper version (available in US) and also in a third-world-edition which is a paperback with a lower grade paper. The cost difference for a typical grad school text book between these two "twins" is astronomical - Usually a 20x price difference. What costs $5 (equivalent) in paper back sells for ~100$ in glossy hardcover. Add it up for all courses in a semester, you get a student's one month living expense at least. The radio show that featured this over air tried reaching the publishers here in US for comment but couldn't reach them.Why would the publisher care when their profits are cushioned by this needless lavishness.