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When I was young prejudice against women was the rule. Intelligent capable women - the kind who run major companies today - were primarily teachers and nurses.

A teacher who today would be a first rate engineer, college professor, or medical doctor, in my day was teaching 4th graders math and science.

Bad teachers are an unintended consequence of social fairness toward women.

Many of the old school Catholic nuns went straight from high school to the convent. Nonetheless, they were extraordinary teachers. Convents are rigorous environments where women develop discipline. I can not say the same about most college campuses these days.

I honestly think the Marine Corps could produce better teachers than colleges produce.

My mother once said almost the exact same thing, in reference to my sister's decision to teach. She said her generation (she's a baby boomer) was the first where college educated women could do more than teaching or nursing. Despite that, a fair number still chose those types of professions, including my librarian mother. Among my generation (the Gen-Xers), the number dwindled even further. All of my female friends from college are in law, business, medicine, etc. I went back and visited my old high school in St. Paul, and was shocked to learn that some of my dumbest classmates were now teachers there.

However, with my sister's generation (not sure what it's called, quite frankly), it seems that more are choosing teaching voluntarily again. If this is true, that would be a great start to making the schools better. I think we could attract more good teachers by making it harder to become a teacher. We should also raise teacher pay, but NOT WITHOUT RAISING THE STANDARDS. This is what liberals don't seem to grasp.