In the last 20 years I have witnessed a remarkable decline in our cultures respect for the teaching profession. The reasons why this is so are complex, but the fact that American teachers are poorly paid, particularly at the entry level, is one factor. Fortunately people go into teaching because they feel called to it, and not for the money, or we would have even fewer well-qualified teachers. Our participants at the table would likely have to conclude that better salaries would attract better teachers and improve morale and respect for the profession. The actions taken by the State of Connecticut several years ago to raise teacher pay provides evidence that improving pay has a positive effect on schools.
American teachers are also overworked.
This situation is a recipe for professional burn out, low morale and poor educational results for our children. We expect much from teachers, yet they are asked to work as if education was a production line designed to minimize inputs and attain maximum production. I have no doubt that the representatives at my imaginary common table could easily add to this list of factors effecting educational outcomes, such as the time squeeze of overworked parents, high school-age kids working long hours or the inequities in funding from one school district to another. But I think my list is sufficient to illustrate that simplistic solutions are not going to address the complex problem of improving our schools. Voucher plans are a radical example of such solutions.