[WS:] I do not understand why you keep bringing this up - it is not germane to the argument that has been made here.
To reiterate - the argument here is that exclusive focus on teachers and their attributes as the sole "cause" of the failures in educational attainment is a diversion from real issues - a diversion in which both right wing union bashers and privatizers and left wing populists find common ground. I do not think that the teaching professionals are any worse than other professionals - surely they are bad teachers, but there are also bad doctors, bad engineers, bad managers, bad IT specialists, etc. If anything, the effect of a bad teacher is not as severe as that of, say, a bad doctor or bad engineer. A bad doctor can kill or disable you, the worst a bad teacher can do is to make you bored and upset for while.
The main problem is not the teachers but the mismatch between expectations on needs of students and what the educational system is geared to deliver. It is not that the latter is "hierarchical" and all that libertarian-anarchist gobbledygook. Life is hierarchical, so if one cannot live with it, the best one can do is to hang oneself. The problem is that schools favor one mode of learning - sitting in a classroom and following verbal instruction on a rather narrow scope of subjects (math, literature, science) supplemented by regimented physical activity (football.) This is sold by liberals and conservatives alike as a "road to success" in life. If that model does not fit one's abilities or interests, then one is screwed. There is no recognition of multiple intelligences, so to speak, that being able to dance, play music or perform requires different cognitive skills than solving math equations - and both types of skills are equally valuable as far as human experience is concerned.
The flip side of this argument is that just as the school system fails its responsibility to recognize multiple intelligences, many learners fail their responsibility to avail themselves of education and "be ready for instruction." They either expect to be entertained by the teacher or otherwise do not give a flying fuck about education and think that openly defying teachers is cool. It is a particularly big problem in the US where anti-intellectualism and anti-institutionalism are deeply ingrained in the popular culture, but you can also find it elsewhere.
These two sides tend to reinforce each other in a vicious circle. As schools put more an more emphasis on a narrow range of skills and testing, more and more students become more and more dismissive of the education, to which schools respond with tightening the standards, and so on. But I think the biggest culprit is not the schools system, but the commercial culture.
Wojtek