It is and sadly similar sentiment exists in the old country. I am not entirely certain why that is the case. Granted, they are always outliers and heavens know

It is and sadly similar sentiment exists in the old country. I am not entirely certain why that is the case. Granted, they are always outliers and heavens know I had my share of bad teachers ( partly because it is a hard thing to do well and partly probably because, with some interesting exceptions it is not that well paid compared to non-teaching variants ). If one is to look at income alone ( again with the exception of ,say, some Chicago teachers ) and effort involved, the choice and sentiment makes sense.