you are not going to convince me that teachers are overpaid, underworked and incompetent and I am clearly not going to convince you of the opposite.
I suppose the thing that frustrates me the most about conversations like this is the high level of misrepresentation or misunderstanding...I never said that teachers are overpaid; at most I said that average California salaries seemed "pretty good." Etc. etc. etc. I get very tired of having to refute incorrect points that having an undermining effect. This gets in the way of trying to define problems and find solutions.
Problem: Many teachers lack subject knowledge, especially in mathematics.
Problem: The US public school system has huge disincentives to maximizing knowledgeable talented people among the teaching ranks.
Solutions: Suggestions noted in the thread.
I understand that you're feeling frustrated, as I'm sure others are. But I am too. I'm very frustrated with the national education debate being driven by misinformation, an unwillingness to examine uncomfortable truths objectively, and an unwillingness to implement real, meaningful changes.
I'm not saying that you, personally are unwilling to, say, implement meaningful changes. I'm just saying that this is a national problem. But it is very frustrating when I write "A" and the reply is an criticism implying that I said "B," like the quote above.
