Cryin’ for R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Frustrated teachers say profession is losing respect, they're treated like scapegoats

Tamika Henry loves being a teacher but lately, she think, she's a scapegoat. Pardon the 10-year classroom veteran for being defensive, but Henry said she and colleagues across the nation are being blamed for state budgets drowning in red ink, for children falling behind those in other nations on tests, and accused of fighting to keep ineffective co-workers in the classroom. And she's tired of it. “Somehow, our society has deflated the value of a teacher,” said Henry, who leads social studies classes at Allendale's New Options Alternative School.