In some places in the world teachers still receive professional esteem commensurate with the vital task they have chosen to fulfil. In the US this is not currently the case. Even the lip service that used to be paid to teachers seems to have vanished as the perceived crisis in the schools is more and more blamed on teachers--and especially teacher unions who are seen as defenders of the tenure that keeps incompetent teachers in the classroom--and on teacher education that has failed to prepare them adequately in the first place. This paper will explore both the illusion and reality of the perceived failure of American schools--with a focus on the literacy testing mandated by "No Child Left Behind"--and on the responsibility of teachers and teacher educators to be perceived to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. (Contains 3 notes.)