The Center for American Progress recently released two reports examining effective efforts to improve teacher quality. All these studies and proposals ignore the fact that nobody cares much about the public schools, as the only students enrolled in public schools are those whose parents are Third World, single or of the working class.

The idea of “combat pay” for those who teach in “bad” areas is one I cannot support. Take the extra money and put it into the classrooms! Nobody should be paid extra to work in minority schools. Take the money set aside for combat pay and use it to reduce class size so that classes are small enough to allow teachers to teach.

It was interesting to me that Roy Romer turned LAUSD into “big business.” His right-hand man -- instead of being an associate or assistant superintendent — was his chief of staff! The whole business of running the public schools was turned into something that hired more big shots for the big bucks, while the classroom suffered. The few good principals were pulled to be mucky-mucks downtown. Then, the next level was moved up to principals, leaving the job of teaching the students to another class of teacher.

When I was in high school, the majority of the seniors in the upper percentile chose teaching as a career. There was no thought of teaching to be a “job.” That is no longer the way it is. Students who don’t have defined goals, decide they will teach for a couple of years and then go on to something else.

Even though teachers could never be adequately compensated for the job they do, there are those who earn tens and hundreds of thousands for sports or big business. Why would anyone who is competent work in a repressive atmosphere with every move dictated and progress is closely monitored so as to show how well the students are doing? The only possible reason is that the people who had chosen teaching as their career are a rapidly disappearing breed.

A teacher cannot teach something to a student; a good teacher creates an environment in which students will want to learn. That is when true learning takes place. In addition, it is not possible to teach a person to be a good teacher; it must be an inborn part of the person. A good teacher has to be able to think, and react, at a moment’s notice. A teacher can be taught to use a variety of techniques to motivate students. It is no wonder there are so few teachers we remember.

All the money that is spent on these studies could be spent on the students already in school. Until the time when colleges and universities recognize the important job they have to do (graduate people who will be career teachers), we will continue to have the situation we have now. The NCLB is incorrect: Not one child is left behind — they are all left behind. Nations all over the globe are looking at us and wondering how we have gotten to this place!

Jeanni Tavlin spent 25 years as a teacher and union activist in Los Angeles.