re: How much would you need to be paid to be an American public school teacher?

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What you’re saying is correct, but I wouldn’t relate it as directly with NCLB as you do. It’s a combination of that and several other things, but the point that teachers have no power to effectively discipline students anymore is absolutely correct.

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My daughter (no pics) left teaching after 3 years to go back to school to be a PT. She's almost finished with her DPT degree and knows she made the right decision. She left because of the lack of discipline. She taught 2nd grade and kids basically had no disciplinary action for almost anything they did. Their punishment was sitting in the office and getting computer time instead of class. She felt she was babysitting kids with no consequences.

Additionally, the burden of the district's requirements (Cy Fair in Houston) was so much that there was no way to do all the things as well as she thought they should be done. There was no leeway in how they taught various lessons or how long they could stay on a topic. She taught math/science and if she thought they needed an extra day on a particular math concept, she couldn't use professional judgement and do it that way.

The teacher job that exists today is a horrible job for those that value excellence and truly want to see kids succeed. Instead, it's perfect for those that can be ok with doing all the things just well enough so that they don't work 12 hour + days all the time. She felt like she could never do enough to keep the district and the parents happy and also teach the kids.

And how Covid impacted the kids is a whole 'nother thing. Some of the kids will never recover from their lost year of instruction.