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As a parent of four children, I have observed the public schools closely since 1984. One of my children was a special-needs student. A second is participating in the talented-and-gifted program. One child never did any homework. Another sought out all possible extra-credit work.

They all have the same parents – my wife and me. We emphasized the importance of education to all of them. We attended parent-teacher conferences and volunteered in their schools and classrooms. Here is what I want my grandchildren to experience differently than our children did:

• The public school system model will teach to the individual student’s needs rather than to an average student on a bell-curve distribution. Learning expectations will not be lowered to allow sufficient numbers of students to graduate within four years. (The end of “social promotion.”)

• Our state legislature will remove the financial silos that hamstring the schools’ ability to spend their property taxes, state income tax revenues and donations, etc. in manners they deem best for educating our young people. Teachers will not have to pay out of their own pockets for supplies.

• The same 10 percent or so of voters turn out to maintain the status quo every year. To increase voter turnout, school boards should hold fewer elections.

• Talented teachers will continue working in their prime years, relieved of burdensome bureaucratic paperwork. A decrease in onerous paperwork will rekindle their love of teaching.

• Section 504 Accommodation Plans or Individual Education Plans under the Americans With Disabilities Act will not be needed to require schools to make “accommodations” necessary to ensure that special-needs students are receiving the best and most customized education possible. Instead, ALL students will receive a customized education.

• Our grandchildren will graduate from high school having learned self-study and how to do homework. This is crucial to the success of lifelong learning. They will be prepared for their college experience without taking remedial-level courses at a community college.

• The seniority system in the public schools will be retired, and workers will be rewarded based on merit and results. A teacher will need to keep a productive and positive attitude to be allowed to continue instructing our children

• School administrators will come from backgrounds other than the educational system. A diversity of backgrounds will foster an “outside the box” mentality that allows schools to be managed in a manner more responsive to the ever-changing needs of students and teachers.

• Schools will provide a combination of classroom and online educational experiences. Teaching coping skills, providing mentoring support and ensuring access to caring and professionally trained counselors will minimize classroom disruptions and enhance student achievement.

In sum, we want our grandchildren to receive a different K-12 education than our children did.

William Taber is the president of Taber Asset Management in Des Moines.