The old saying is that those who can do; those who can't teach. So, disrespect for teaching is nothing new, but the political hostility these days is pretty over the top. Teaching is a part of my job, and I complain much about my profession, but I am so much happier to be a professor than a teacher in an elementary school or high school. Not only do I get paid better (despite one relative of mine kept arguing long ago), but the grading (worst part of my job) is constant so the 8am-3pm mythology is just that (teachers work far longer than the teaching hours). They have to deal with parents. They have to deal with a greater variety of student problems. If a student blows off my class, that is fine with me. I don't have to deal with any disciplinary problems, except plagiarism and other forms of cheating. I have not gotten bitten, hit, or attacked in any way.
It may be the case that teachers get summers off, but they get paid that way. That is, they don't get paid very well, so they are not really paid for time off. They are paid less.
At least we are consistent. We give far more money to senior citizens and short the kids. Why not short the people who are teaching the kids?
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