And what would you do when the parent cussed you out, or laughed and said 'that is your problem.' Some parents will not take responsibility, and you can bet their kids won't either.
I am not suggesting that anything is 'unfair'. I have been in the classroom and in the workplace. Both have their problems.
'The tougher the job, the greater the pay.'
Already happening - at least in Texas. The state has a base pay, and districts add to that. The state has also begun to add more for certain areas - like math and science.
Problems exist because of poor preparation by education departments, lack of discipline allowed in schools (You think W is having problems with detainee treatment - multiply that for the child in school), parents who don't care or are too busy with their own lives ("I couldn't do my homework because we had to go to ____ "). Teachers who are not educated themselves add to the problems.
[And what would you do when the parent cussed you out, or laughed and said 'that is your problem.' Some parents will not take responsibility, and you can bet their kids won't either.]
There are those. But the best any teacher can do is try to motivate the parents to help the kids. If the kids parents are drug dealings, welfare hording, government sucking, lack luster, slimeball scum buckets, then their child is a waste of time and should be sent to prison for the rest of its life (sarc). Obviously, there are people that should not be allowed to have kids. Then their are those that just "don't have time" to work with their kids. If a teacher is calling the house once or twice a month to discuss the kids progress, decent well intended folks are going to take notice.
Your hopeless child scenario exists, but I don't believe we should try and curtail an educational system around hopeless children and parents. This is still a free country and try as we may, you can't govern stupid. In order to address the problem of worthless parents (with regards to their children's education) you would literally have to make their kids go to boarding school (Take them away).