[JustaDumbBlonde]

"This is the second thread in several days where people who do not know what they are talking about but think they do just criticize teachers. It drives me crazy. I'm the first to criticize them when I see issues that they need called on."

Perhaps I am misunderstanding you ... but you seem to say that you are uniquely free to criticize teachers when you think they deserve it, but everyone else is clueless and shouldn't voice an opinion?

[twigs]

I don't think anyone is free of criticism. No one. But there is a difference between generalized statements on salary (different regions in the country vary widely) and teacher competence (that varies widely too). There is very legitimate criticism to be made about teachers and the education system, but I think that it needs to be carefully made. There are general trends in education that are troubling, but individual teachers and districts address them (or not) in different ways.