Don’t you remember reading books where teachers used to be respected and loved? Consider “Dead Poets Society” or “Au Revoir Les Enfants,” where the teacher holds a transcendent, almost supernatural role. We all have at least one teacher who we treasure, who helped us further ourselves as human beings. And even those that we hated at the time, we may grudgingly admit today that they had our best interests at heart.

However, the respect for teachers seems to have dropped dramatically in recent years. Nowhere is this more symptomatic than in the union battle in Wisconsin, where teachers are being portrayed as leeches sucking away at government funds. This change is replicated elsewhere: Teachers in France are also coming under increased pressure because they are perceived as a conservative movement, holding up the “necessary” reforms to destroy public services. However, no one would argue that we need to cut down on policemen, firemen or soldiers. Teachers on the other hand, have become a much more popular and vulnerable target.

It’s hard to say why that is. There is a lot of anger at what is perceived as a privileged condition: lots of holidays and good hours that allow teachers time with their families. However, although teachers’ wages are respectable (around the median income per capita), they are hardly comparable to those in the private sector. And wages don’t account for the fact that you have to explain Faulkner and geometry to 13-year-olds, which to my mind is something similar to digging a well with your fingernails: rewarding perhaps, but long, painful and frustrating.

I think the real reason for all this anger against teachers comes from a change in the nature of relationships between teachers and students. The reform movement of the 1960s sought to break all relations of authority between teachers and students, and it largely succeeded. Teachers had to change from being powerful rulers to simple channels through which students were meant to express themselves.

Yet, this important change was not accompanied by one which brought greater responsibility for parents or for children themselves. The problem is that not only has authority been dissolved, but respect has been as well. How often do you hear parents blame everything but their children for their bad grades? It’s obviously all down to the teacher if Johnny gets Ds, because you know, making him do his homework is the teacher’s responsibility. After all, learning your times tables is F-U-N! Teachers must magically ensure that pupils want to go through the painful process of learning.

Then there are the parents who believe that “studying” is overrated. You know, you can learn so much more from watching “Jersey Shore” than by studying your times tables. And look at that nice Tila Tequila girl, she got pretty far without any help from teachers. Who are these teachers who insist that my child hands in his homework on time and stops burning school property?

All this has brought resentment from parents (and thus taxpayers) against the teachers who they hold responsible for their child’s underperformance. Hence Wisconsin Governor Walker’s attempt to wrestle away their union bargaining rights. However, instead of trying to reduce the status of teachers even more, state governors should make a committed stand to restoring pride and respect, as much from students as from their parents.