Great essay. It says a lot about a society values by how they treat their educators. Teachers in Japan and parts of Europe were paid nearly as well as other professionals. And while the US never paid its teachers well, at least they once got a modicum of respect. Those days are long gone now. I had a friend who was a multi-award winning teacher, and she told me, "it used to be when I sent a kid home with a note, they were in trouble, now if I send a note, I'm in trouble".