No matter the school system, it's required that the pupils have the will to learn. Doesn't matter how good your teacher is if you have no interest in what he is saying. But of course, some teachers really suck, heh..

But, considering most pupils are tired from school during their high school years they tend to pay less attention than they should. My opinion is to blame the pupil rather than the teacher, unless there are obvious reasons your teacher works against you.

I'm not sure how well pupils from other countries do in norway, but they do get individual attention and special classes to learn our language. But then again it all comes down to how willingly they are to learn.

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As long as we live in a capitalist society, these things will never be equal (as far as family wealth goes) because there will always be private schools to offer better enviroments, books and tutors.

If we consider only private schools, I have to say some things has to change. Among your points, one and two could be wrought into a single point. Schools with better funds will be able to give teachers higher pay and thus higher motivation (doesn't always work, but probably). One of the problems in Sweden is that the education needed to become a teacher is short and very simple to pass. The newly examined teachers have not really gained any useful skills to teach students. It's like some kind of stripped-down leadership class. The things learnt will have no effect on students whatsoever unless you have enormous charisma, and I've only had one such teacher.

He on the other hand had the ability to make any subject he taught seem interesting. It's hard to put my finger on what he did, but a good start is to not sound like what you're trying to force on others isn't boring as hell :)

I think parents have a great deal of responsibility too. To help their children with schoolwork and to make learning appear fun from when they are little. That might seem unreasonable, but I just think it would really help.

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