But they sometimes grow disillusioned. No profession has less autonomy, especially at the public school level. Yes, some of the older teachers resist change. A good number of teachers do not. I teach the same classes year after year, but I never teach the identical materials.
Teachers are professionals, just like many other people.
I'm really sick of the generalizations. The work I do is essential, done with great care, and I take it very seriously. The institution can get away with paying us a lower wage. And for the record, I have had my own struggles dealing with the public school system and my own children, so it's not that I wholly defend education. Parents blame teachers, because they see them up close, but so much of the blame belongs on adminsitration, and higher, in the state legislatures, where NON-professionals dictate what will be taught.