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As a teacher in a public high school, I can say confidently that is as impossible to teach in a public high school as it is to practice dentistry with carpentry tools on a New York City subway. Students find it just as difficult to learn in these brick boxes of confusion overfilled with fire alarms, standardized tests, assemblies, announcements, personnel changes, textbook changes, emergency drills, electronic gadgets, and scanty clothes.

Parents barge in with bright ideas and "I'll show them who's boss"-or never show up at all-while the principal cowers in the corner in fear of her next lawsuit. The smiling newspapers report declining literacy rates, and the politicians preach from on high about "standards."

When the entire scenario is viewed from an objective distance, it seems like lunacy. And that is an understatement. Violence, drugs, poor nutrition, foul language, and disrespect also abound. So what is the problem with public education?

The answer is non-academic influence, the outside influence of politics, law, and psychology on academic institutions. These influences keep the rules of the scholastic game ever-changing and block any possibility of achievement.

Permit me an analogy. Let us say that you are a business owner. You sell and produce widgets.

After a long day of work, you pick up the day's newspaper and read about a state representative who proposed a bill that "standardizes" the production of widgets. The bill details exactly what type of certification a person must have. It lays out quality guidelines. It also mandates a specific arrangement of equipment. You and your business meet none of the requirements.

The bill passes. To meet the new requirements, you find yourself digging through mountains of irrelevant paperwork, spending thousands of dollars for a shift in your manufacturing process, and handling customer complaints regarding new widgets that look nice but don't hold up. It nearly breaks you.

After a period of a year, you get the situation under control. Your income has just gotten into the positive, and you have found a way to produce a quality product and still meet the guidelines. You get home one night, switch on the television and nearly choke on your iced tea when you see that state representative's son, recently voted in, touting another overhaul of the widget laws.

This is exactly the situation schools face every year.

As political campaigns progress and laws are voted in and out of existence, teachers and principals are inundated

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