He meant it as a compliment, but I didn't take it as one. It betrayed an all-too-prevalent attitude. On the one hand, Americans say they value their teachers. A recent survey found that 62% of Americans consider teaching to be the profession that most benefits society, while only 22% named medicine. But, in fact, when people see articulate, poised and accomplished teachers in the classroom, they tend to wonder what's wrong with them that they're "only" teaching.

With that kind of attitude so pervasive, it's no wonder that some of those attracted to teaching are less than competent. A Knight- Ridder report last summer found that California teachers are deplorably subpar in nearly two-thirds of the state's public classrooms -- meaning that they are teaching subjects in which they do not hold degrees or teaching credentials or display "expertise."

After teaching for 11 years, during which I earned a master's degree in English on my own time, I wanted to take a leave from the classroom and accept a university fellowship to research and write about teaching. At first, I received a verbal thumbs-down on my request for unpaid leave. Then I received by mail two contradictory documents from the school district: The first said my request had been granted, but the second said it had not. At the end of the summer, a third letter came announcing that my request was "expected to be approved" at an August board meeting.