Biggest challenge facing k-12 today

There are so many today I just have to say after watching Waiting for Superman, it would have to be the teachers union. I mean it is just absolutely horrible what they are doing to the classroom. Why these rules exist I have no idea. I mean I understand the uses of the unions but to be honest, it just seems so ridiculous. These teachers that are bad, why can't they be fired?? It really doesn't make any sense. I have never been fired from a job before. I have come really close. I was late a lot at my very first job and they told me, "one more time and you are fired" and I was not late again. Doesn't that seem to be a good plan? Give them a chance to improve or they are fired. There is no excuse for putting these "lemons" into the classroom. If that was my child suffering at the hands of a poor excuse for a teacher, and he continued to teach, I would be outraged! It hasn't happened to me yet, and I am still in an outrage because of the others that have already dealt with it. I think the charter schools are fantastic. My own brother went to a charter school and started to learn spanish in the first grade, now he was fluent at 13 years old. He also started to play the violen in first grade. I still rememeber the horrible sounds that came from his bedroom while he practiced at home. His little violen was so tiny, only 1/4 the actual size an adult uses. When my brother was forced to switch school in high school, he was lost in the system. He started to do poorly because he always needed that extra help. He was put into remedial classes, and eventually dropped out of high school. Now at 18 years old my brother believes he will never become anything. He works for a gocery store, he doesn't think he is smart enough to go to college or to get his GED. Where did that mentality come from? He did so well before public school it just makes me sad to think of how far he could have gone. He works hard and is a very great young man. I still have faith that one day he will realise how awesome he really is and reach his full potential.