This is why I have, over and over, advocated that we go to DVD or online learning for our high schools. Yes, they still attend school, but instead of one class being taught by a decent teacher, another being taught by a brilliant teacher, and yet another being taught by the worst teacher, we could get THE BEST (HISTORY, ENGLISH, ALGEBRA, SCIENCE, ETC) TEACHER TO TEACH THEM ALL.  The class would meet. The DVD would play a lecture from the one of the best teachers in the world. Every class would get the same opportunity–no more education gaps. The in-room teachers could keep discipline, administer tests, answer or forward questions, etc.  Further, these DVDs could be enhanced with graphics, music, images, bullet points, discussion starters, etc. And as time goes on, the DVD could be tweaked to address questions that might have surfaced too many times, or shore up weak points.  Yes, we need in-room teachers, but we ALSO need top-notch teaching. The videos could be relatively compressed, if necessary, allowing plenty of class time. Or the videos could be nearly the length of the class.  What would happen if the children in Mississippi (the worst education state) were getting the SAME teaching as in Massachusetts? Or better yet, the same teaching as in a Harvard freshman class of Western Civilization?  This would allow us to control the product. This is why TED is so interesting. It takes world-class thinkers/doers/scholars on interesting topics and presents them to the world–usually with accompanying graphics or PowerPoint.  Do that for a particular subject matter and not only could we educate our children, but adults could access these courses and strengthen their educations.
Anya Kamenetz of Fast Company writes about the TED phenomenon: "By combining the principles of 'radical openness' and of 'leveraging the power of ideas to change the world,' TED is in the process of creating something brand new. I would go so far as to argue that it's creating a new Harvard -- the first new top-prestige education brand in more than 100 years."