Another school year is upon us. With this comes the constant talk about school taxes, expenses, school conditions, teachers' pay rates, teachers' experiences and backgrounds, student-to-school populations and students' abilities to learn, comprehend and retain. I know that is a mouthful, but I still don't believe I have mentioned all that is associated with -- and controversial about -- yet another school year!

I wonder -- am I the only citizen who views our current school system as a bust and a probable waste of tax money? I truly believe that " teaching to the test" -- in other words, to teach students to continue to pass these glorious equivalency tests -- is wrong, a waste of taxes and even a fundamental waste of the school system's resources!

I also believe that it is a very wrong and dangerous practice of how our school system is seemingly an accepted way of weeding out the bad, slow and sometimes ignorant -- and yet very good-at-heart students! The American school system must not become the accepted method of creating the working, blue-collar class of citizens by seemingly catering to the white-collar class of citizens.

I have heard mention of very innovative suggestions of changing our school system to make it better, more fair and more efficient. Two of these very great ideas are to change the equivalency tests and to go to a four-day school week.

Granted, these changes are very different, but citizens are going to have to make and embrace changes for the better!