Misconception #63: Teachers deserve to be among the world's most respected professions

Over the years, I have been writing about misconceptions regarding the schooling process. The purpose of these posts is to explain why I disagree with various comments that I have heard people make about schooling. These are meant as personal thoughts rather than conclusive proof, and I will admit that I'm not always the best at explaining my thoughts. Regardless, I have decided that I should be willing to share these posts when I encounter someone online who makes an argument that I have already discussed.

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Early on, when writing about misconceptions regarding the schooling process, I included something that was not technically wrong. This was the belief that teachers don't get the respect that they deserve. This was actually a combination of two misconceptions that I have decided to split. This includes the belief that teachers deserve a significant amount of respect and the belief that teachers don't get respect. The original post can still be found at: http://maritimeorca1.blogspot.com/2011/05/misconception-4-teachers-dont-get.html

How much respect do teachers deserve? None. There is still no evidence that teachers are doing society one bit of good. History, observation, and common sense actually provide evidence to the contrary. Maybe we can fixate on details that make the schools look valuable, but the bigger picture is a lot scarier. Teachers have eliminated educational rights and have turned any unique individual into an outcast. As a result, progress has dried up and common sense seems to have faded out of existence. I don’t think that there’s any doubt that teaching is by far the most destructive profession around.

Despite all of this, teachers insist that we give them more respect than any other profession. I could further explain the different reasons they are wrong. Take a look at how they treat their students. That should be all I need to say to disprove their claim. Why is it that the world's most disrespectful profession absolutely must be the world's most respected? Teachers ask for far too much respect, and I want to make one thing clear. Teachers don't deserve to be worshipped as Gods.