The role of teacher educators is particularly significant for the welfare of a democratic society and for the education of its children and youth. Recently, however, the decline in enrollment in teacher education programs and in school-age children poses pervasive and serious problems, leading to the curtailment of programs and the retrenchment of faculty. A lack of understanding of the issues facing the teacher education field may explain some current disillusions. Contrary to popular belief, all education students do not intend to become public school teachers, and, in fact, schools of education have a long tradition of providing the kind of training valuable in other, noneducation jobs. Although national, state, and individual certification procedures have been implemented to monitor quality in teacher education, other problems remain: (1) Both enrollment and teacher demographics are in a period of change, making planning difficult; (2) Federal programs have become such a substantial part of teacher education that termination of these funds jeopardizes many activities and services; and (3) The talent pool of perspective teachers has decreased in both size and quality. It is recommended that Congress stimulate and support teacher education programs through fellowships, loan programs, and federal incentives for research and dissemination of new teaching practices. (FG)