I do not have classroom time. But I personally know some very good teachers. They work hard and are over burdened with full schedules, full classes and regula

I do not have classroom time. But I personally know some very good teachers. They work hard and are over burdened with full schedules, full classes and regulatory testing and lesson requirements that force them to keep a demanding pace. The ones that succeed in building meaningful relationships with students, parents and their community are standouts. These are often perceived as the "good" teachers. To me it appears they are rare because they are going well above and beyond what the job expects of them. This is the problem. There aren't enough good teachers. Salaries/benefits/class size/prep time are a function of funding. Low autonomy/high stress are the result of our regulatory demands that appear to be on a one way direction: even more requirements and testing. One particular friend left high end consulting to become a HS math teacher in an inner city school. He came with an academic background - having taught for a bit in colleges. Very optimistic. He left after 4 years because the number one problem in his classroom was keeping the kids focused at all. As he put if he had three concepts to cover in 50 minutes, he was lucky if could get 1 covered for the 2 or 3 students among the 30 that were trying to pay attention. He was a good teacher and paid well. The school, school district, the community had complex problems: low income, crime, food insecurity, parents who had to work multiple shifts, etc. He couldn't solve all these problems before explaining right triangles. I don't believe the model that we have today will survive the next 25 years. I agree that good teachers and good schools are necessary. But we don't seem to be generating or supporting enough of them. So I think the solution is to look elsewhere entirely. Break up the problem. Remove the dependence on good teachers and good schools. BTW, if you're a teacher. Thank you for what you do.