Many public schools are going to opposite route, which is causing a lot of problems — classes are becoming fully integrated with both special needs and gifted s

Many public schools are going to opposite route, which is causing a lot of problems — classes are becoming fully integrated with both special needs and gifted students in the same room. You'll often get a teacher and a near minimum-wage assistant in one class... Generally this is a response to a massive teacher shortage in the US, which is likely caused by low pay relative to the sheer amount of work and angst that teachers have to put up with (from both parents and students). If the US were truly a society that valued education, teachers would be some of the highest paid professionals in the country... but teacher salaries have actually been declining relative to the average, and like many positions haven't been keeping up with the rate of inflation either. This is in addition to the long-known fact that many teachers end up buying their own supplies.