Are teachers unfairly disrespected by the public, and even the U.S. Secretary of Education?

Yes. Historically teachers were recruited from the population sector that was considered the least prodctive, ie, young unmarried girls waiting to find a husband or spinsters. Later teaching, along with nursing, were the most available fields for women. Teaching had the great advantage that wives and mothers who would become teachers would not have to work all day, would have holidays off with their children, and have the summer off, with their children.

As such, it was clearly a second-class profession and was viewed as something the little woman could do to contribute to the family income. Rarely were women promoted to administrative positions.

While primary and secondary education and undergone a revolutionary transformation in the last 25 years, or so, public perception of teachers has not. Nowadays teachers work much longer hours than their predecessors, withclassroom teachers having to comply with a myriad of mandates as well as develop lesson plans that incorporate ever growing curriculum content into their limited contact time with students.

Teachers are the key to our nation's future. They provide the foundation for our children by giving me the education they need to make them productive adults. Short changing them is short changing our future. That they are struggling under tremendous difficulty they care very deeply for the children they teach, and they attempt to provide them with the information they need to live a better life.

It is unconscionable that the first cost cutting target of state and local governments is education.

Teachers are the only hope for our future.

I think anyone who is charged with the responsibility of educating our children is going to be under great scrutiny for obvious reasons, and because of that relationship to society, teachers are often tied to the whipping post. My thoughts wander back to teachers that I had. Some were great, some hated us and themselves. Some deserved respect and some did not. I think when critiquing though, we should be mindful of the fact that a constant assault on our kids brains have left them with the attention span of a gnat. We have the educational stats to prove it. Some kids are positively HORRIBLE shits, and even dangerous. Hopped up on Ridilin, Mt. Dew and pop tarts, and fresh off a 12 bender of grand theft auto. The culture has changed, and often, even great teachers do not get the participation that they need, nor the support from parents, and are still made to answer for "their shortfalls". Nobody wants to admit that the child is horrible, or that they themselves have not pushed or monitored their child. It's easier to blame the teacher. As for the U.S. Secretary, he's a bureaucrat, he'll pass the buck with the best of 'em. His salary depends on it.

@Milieu. I think in the future anybody that wants to get a job in any educational field as to the big wig jobs..needs at least 4 years prior class room work..just so they know what real teachers go though..Then maybe they'll have alittle heart...but thats a big maybe...Thanks

One of the First targets of the Koch/Cato Institute was Public Education.

There's money to be made stealing Public Education and giving it to the ReichWing to run. Which is what Walker, Kasich, Brownback, Scott and other Republic Syndicate Govs are doing, as we speak

Yes they are disrespected - for example, "Waiting for Superman", while making some valid and poignant points, also seems to blame teachers and teacher unions for too much of what's wrong (go figure the movie was distributed by Walden Media... *sigh*). Same goes for the movie's cause celebre, Michelle Rhee, who seems to think the charter model can work for all schools and all kids. I suspect teachers' unions have perhaps been too unwilling to change but I don't blame them for not wanting to put their toes an a slope that seems to be getting much steeper and more slippery since the right wing decided going after public unions was chic again :P

The lack of funding for education in California is a slap in the face of Civilization. Of course teachers are disrespected, look at their salary, their job cuts, and schools shutting down. Teachers are needed to progress the growth of the globe.

Teachers Rock!

Teachers are under appreciated.

They do this work because they love children, it's not for the money.

I was also a teacher sceptic until I married one and see how hard she works and how dedicated she is to educating children. Law makers in this country are out of touch with education. Instead they are promoting the dumbing down of this great nation. Which will not be so great in future if they continue these vicious irresponsible attacks on education.

What is his problem?

No ! How many times have students shot at and killed wussy standing target teachers like sitting ducks !?!?

A REAL teacher who wants RESPECT, and a raise, Brings a ROCKET LAUNCHER to class, and leads off with "Hey you little pussies,....take your best shot" ! while slamming in a fresh projectile !

The principal is likely to take him seriously as well in the teachers lounge at lunch.

( too strong ?)

p.s. hey FBI,...."HUMOR"

WTF HAPPENED TO CURRENT NEWS!! WHY IS IT NOT ON FRONT PAGE! FUCK CURRENT YOUR KILLING YOUR WEBSITE!

Yes..they are under payed and most are looked down on... Secretary Of Education needs to go back to school and learn how to take care of teachers and schools around this nation..

Only one other coment? This issue is a big ordeal. I hope there will me much more said about it.There are a lot of munufactured problems in American education. One big problem is empty text books. That is the result of the super rich wanting "thier" ( like they own our kids ) future work force ignorant and trajicly desperate. The fake Christian religions have been doing much to push legitamate content out of all type of coarses and coarse books. The Texas standard has been effective at eliminateing vital history . And even the structure and purpose of our own government has been replaced with empty void. This is not the fault of teachers. The teachers are limited by a vicious politic. The super rich want the system slowed and broken enough that they can point to it and propagandize that education is useless. Same as they have done and claim about healthcare. The fox TV network is not legitemate media. It is a beast designed to inject propaganda like a hypodermic is designed to inject poison. God bless our teachers and God damn the scum that gets inbetween our kids and a real education.

Diane Ravitch wrote:

Many teachers hold Duncan’s policies accountable for the public disrespect now directed at teachers in the media. Consequently they can’t find it in their hearts to trust Arne Duncan when he thanks them for their service. They’ve learned to respond to what he does, not what he says.

Me? I'm a believer of what the teachers say. They're in the trenches of reality.