There is little question that teachers have one of the most undervalued of all positions in our society. They are out there educating the young who forever represent the future and who will one day run everything.

Yet at the same time they are underpaid and overworked, more so than any other profession. And their supposed “vacations” are often spent setting up their rooms a month before school starts, as well as getting their lesson plans in order, items ordered.

At the end of the year the students rush out the door and are on a three month break. Their teachers, however, are still at school, taking down the decorations, going through back files, grading papers, tests and projects.

Then there are end-of-the-year meetings with administrators, arranging the placement of students into classes for the following years.

But now there are measures being taken by some in Iowa who believe our teachers are overpaid and under-qualified.

Recently, a system of testing was set up for students in the education field so the state can gauge where each student is and make sure they are on the correct level before continuing on.

This isn’t enough for some. There are currently proposals that all teachers should have to get their master’s degree.

So another three years is added on to the time any teacher spends at a university, as well as several thousand more dollars; all for the same pay of only $22,000 a year for the public educator.

At this point it is almost easier to then find a college or private school where they can make more money and hopefully be able to pay off the additional debt forced upon teachers. The reasoning behind the extra time is that teachers in Iowa are not helping their students learn enough of the skills they need to go into the real world.

So the easy answer to why students are failing is to blame the teachers. Much like when a coach of an athletic team is fired because the team is doing poorly. No one ever thinks to blame the team for simply being bad players.

One of the biggest faults in the public is the thought that every child can succeed, will get straight As and can be anything they want. The reality that many people don’t want to face is that there are some students that don’t want to learn, and are only at school because of the law. Multiple influences, mostly home life, shape a child’s behavior that even in kindergarten can be lost.

We wake up and realize some children won’t be taught, and even a high school teacher with a Ph.D. can’t change that.

Teachers already take more than their share of blame, with angry parents calling them at home, or showing up intoxicated at school.

And if the violent behavior from the parents isn’t enough, there are always the students themselves, willing to hit, bite, scratch or shoot other students and teachers they have to contend with and worry about. So they have to restrain students, all the while worrying about being sued by the children’s parents for handling the kid “too roughly” when the child was throwing a tantrum and attacking the teacher.

The laws, rules, regulations, pay and hours are already stacked against every public school teacher. Now there are people who seek to set up one more hurdle against would-be teachers before getting the joy of all these things.

If we really want to make sure teachers can properly handle students, instead of taking the time of getting a master’s we should send teachers to a year at a police academy.

Giving them training to take care of any students that present a threat, and give each teacher a flak jacket and taser. Then institute a no-fault clause, so that any student that is hurt while at a public school cannot sue. It’s a winning combination for raising test scores.

Blaine Moyle is a junior in English from Des Moines.