What is the most important changes that K-12 education needs?

Based on all the movies and essays I watched and read, I believe that the answer, in regards to the K-12 educational issue, is a better teaching staff. Being a teacher is a very complicated job because teachers are expected to help guide their students to the path of success. What the K-12 educational system needs is a better way of producing good teachers and finding a way to eliminate bad teachers. This could be done in a couple different ways.

Mentoring could be an option. I think it is important for experienced teachers to be able share their stories and advice to new teachers. I also think it is important for new teachers to have access to experienced teachers because it gives them a sense of security, in a way.

Student-teaching should be encouraged and prolonged. This is a great way of getting exposed to teaching students in a real life scenario. It is best to put student-teachers in a classroom and observe how they interact and engage with the students. This could also be an opportunity for student-teachers to realize if teaching is what they really want to do. If an unwilling teacher can learn that he/she does not want to teach, it is best to have them realize sooner rather than later. This is to avoid producing bad teachers in the future.

Teaching is definitely not for everyone. I believe that schools should not hire anyone readily. Teachers may have an impressive resume however, it won't mean a thing if they fail to take control of students and the classroom. I believe teacher training periods should be longer and more carefully looked at. Scores and resumes should not be viewed when judging teachers. How they perform in a classroom should be a big factor. Preparing students for the future is a very big responsibility. We want to improve the teaching staff and eliminate bad teachers to fulfill this responsibility.