Just about everybody, it seems, has something to say about teachers. Given the intense debate over public education, it would be surprising if teaching failed to attract the scrutiny that surrounds topics such as school funding or standards. In the end, whatever reforms we pursue and whatever standards we set, we count on teachers to go into classrooms and deliver the goods. In A Sense of Calling, Public Agenda attempted to find out what teachers really think of their profession, and to compare their views with those of the administrators who hired them and college graduates who chose different careers. It is palpable, vastly underappreciated and a valuable asset that money can't buy.
Teachers do believe that they are underpaid.
The pay issue overlooks incentives that are significantly more important to most teachers and would-be teachers. Another debate has been over how well teachers are prepared and whether they need more background in the subjects they teach. What their preparation lacks, they say, is not content, but the training needed to manage a classroom, bring classes alive and make sure their students actually learn. Most beginning teachers tell us that when they first entered the classroom, they were often at a loss when they tried to help struggling students. Yet they had every desire to do so.