Val,
I agree with most of maybe even all of what you're saying. The reason I jumped into this conversation in the first place and started defending teachers is that WAY back at the beginning there was some serious bashing of teachers as a group because their GRE scores were the lowest out of the categories on that one table. It really bothered me to see teachers portrayed that way to the very people from whom they need the most respect.
Part of the reason that the "talent" of the country tends to shy away from teaching is the way that the people think that old motto: If you can't do, teach. It's kind of a dangerous circle where the brightest people are choosing NOT to teach, because there is this idea that teachers are stupid and are not respected, so teacher prep programs actually have to keep digging more and more to the bottom of the barrel. The only way to stop this cycle is to fundamentally change the way that teachers are recruited and somehow make it a more respectful profession, and yes that has to mean tougher requirements for teachers, but at the same time you must increase the benefits of the job or you will not get nearly enough people applying!
It's a tough issue, and one that won't be solved overnight.
