It's not easy to become a teacher in Finland. Literally any jackass can become a teacher in the US. Make becoming a teacher more difficult and you will get better teachers, better pay and better results. We'll never be able to reach averages states like Finland and Sweden pull, but they'll never put men on the moon by themselves.
This. Education is viewed as a "soft" subject in the USA, filled with mediocrities. For example compare, LSAT/GMAT/MCAT scores of the various majors, education is usually near the bottom.
