On: "Self-esteem has gone up in the United States; achievement has not."

[scott_s]

Hiring teachers is a beggars-can't-be-choosers situation. Starting pay is relatively low, stress is high.

[gaius → scott_s]

Job security is very high, the pension scheme is very good, you get the summer off.

There are much worse jobs than teaching.

[scott_s → gaius]

There certainly are. But not many people choose to go into it, and you're suggesting limiting that pool even more.

[tokenadult → scott_s]

The number of people credentialed to be teachers in the United States is something close to double the number of people currently working as teachers. What's sad is that studies of teacher competency

http://www.hoover.org/publications/digest/3506971.html

tend to show that the best teachers get squeezed out of the occupation the most rapidly, with lousier teachers hanging on to enjoy the job security and other nonsalary benefits. And probably at present the lack of attraction of (public sector) teaching to some job applicants results from the known low quality of many workers in that sector.

[billswift → scott_s]

Starting pay is pretty damn high for what they have to do and the teachers' general competence level.