"It works on paper but not in practice."
This is true of many things, particularly education, but those on the school boards seem unable to grasp this concept. The recently imposed No Child Left Behind act is a perfect example of this. It's all well and good to say we're going to get all students performing at grade level. But that literally means ALL students. That means that the children with a genuine learning disability, or those who DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH are expected to be performing at the same level as their peers, and if they don't, it's because the teachers aren't following the approved teaching method, not because the child has a mental defect that prevents him or her from learning at the same rate, or doesn't speak the same language as the teacher.

Another problem is the standardization of the teaching process. It's true that the same thing isn't going to work for everybody, but teachers are REQUIRED to follow a curriculum set by the higher-ups, regardless of whether that method is working or not.

And then you occasionally get a teacher who really shouldn't be in charge of the subject because they've got quite enough to do already. This is a problem i've experienced first hand many times. For example: my senior year in high school, my English teacher was also the my teacher for art and film appreciation, and also happened to be the head of the cheerleading squad. When the same person is instructing the pom pom shakers on how to do a mid-air somersault, grading my term paper on Moby Dick, and judging the accuracy of my woodcut reproduction, there needs to be some reconsideration regarding staff appointment.