You make some good points zzzz but there is a reason for this:
I don't understand WHY it always dissolves into an angry comparison between "teaching" and "other jobs". I really don't get the endless hissing of "well if you think that why don't you do it"???!!! It's a job with good bits and bad bits. It isn't the only job where people critisize or even abuse you. It isn't the only job with long hours. It most certainly isn't the only job where people feel undervalued, exhausted and strung out.
The cast majority of people think teachers/schools do a good job, but this angry defensiveness doesn't help.
I haven't always been a teacher. In my past jobs, I have been criticised by clients or customers during the working day. Moaned about it with my colleagues. But when I 'clocked' off, I was able to leave that behind me and relax.
When I was out for dinner with friends or go to parties and got asked what I did, no one took the piss out of those jobs or told me how easy I must have it. No one told me how they would do my job better than me. I didn't have to go onto forums and see people start posts attacking that job. Or read newspaper articles belittling what I did on a weekly basis.
You see, in other jobs, people don't have to defend themselves quite so much as a teacher does.
Yes, NHS staff or social workers or shift staff etc. also have it tough but not everyone has needed a social worker or has needed healthcare in a long time and therefore, they don't get critiqued as often. They just don't. You count up as many threads attacking each profession on here and teaching will always come out too.
When you see posts daily, attacking your job or when people to your face tell you how easy you have it, you tend to get defensive!
Threads like these don't help.
Anyway, I'd say I'm off to bed now but I just need to finish working on my subject's new NEA that only got released last Friday and I am starting my with my pupils tomorrow.