As an anecdote, I was a math major. I took an elective course on the history of mathematics, which must have been a requirement for math education majors, who were under a separate department and even college (i.e., not the math department or college of the arts and sciences). I was the only math major, and I'm pretty sure the only male in a class of about 20 or so. The professor was one of the easiest and most straightforward professors, basically giving out a study guide of homework problems that directly reflected what was to be on the exams. I am fairly certain I got 100% on all exams.
I have never witnessed more complaining and moaning from students than I did in that class. The education majors (i.e., everyone else) complained about absolutely everything, from the book to the professor to the material itself to "difficulty" of the course. It was unbelievable that these people were supposedly wanting to be math teachers but were complaining endlessly about a history of mathematics course. I experienced basically the same from the education majors in the introduction to proofs class.
My mom was a teacher, but those experiences forever tainted the picture of a modern day teacher. In fact, one of the primary reasons my mom retired early was due to her fellow teachers and requirements from the school. She was mandated to use PowerPoint and share lesson plans. But the lesson plans received from the younger teachers weren't up to her standards, so my mom usually had to redo the others' lesson plans, on top of her assigned lesson plan material. Additionally, the kids with the lowest test scores and behavioral problems were usually transferred to my mom's homeroom class for her to help turnaround, which she usually did. What an absolute nightmare.
The root problem with the US education system is the same thing with the rest of US government programs:
There is no bankruptcy mechanism for government agencies.
Bankruptcy removes poorly run private companies from the marketplace. There is no such mechanism for government agencies... so poorly run agencies remain in place a hundred years after they lost their effectiveness.
Why does a public school classroom still look the same today as it did 150 years ago? Ridiculous. Remove the education government agency and you will see hundreds of better options spring up.
Also - bring back corporal punishment. Sure, it was misused in 1% of cases, but it has led to 1000x the problems from students who have no respect for teachers.
Google it. It's a racket. Teacher's unions have negotiated automatic pay raises for certain educational attainments. Those attainments are certified by the Ed Schools. It's basically the certification program scam.
I have never witnessed more complaining and moaning from students than I did in that class. The education majors (i.e., everyone else) complained about absolutely everything, from the book to the professor to the material itself to "difficulty" of the course. It was unbelievable that these people were supposedly wanting to be math teachers but were complaining endlessly about a history of mathematics course. I experienced basically the same from the education majors in the introduction to proofs class.
My mom was a teacher, but those experiences forever tainted the picture of a modern day teacher. In fact, one of the primary reasons my mom retired early was due to her fellow teachers and requirements from the school. She was mandated to use PowerPoint and share lesson plans. But the lesson plans received from the younger teachers weren't up to her standards, so my mom usually had to redo the others' lesson plans, on top of her assigned lesson plan material. Additionally, the kids with the lowest test scores and behavioral problems were usually transferred to my mom's homeroom class for her to help turnaround, which she usually did. What an absolute nightmare.