As a teacher who put in 34 years at the high school classroom, EVERYTHING you said resonated. However, I remember what it was like in the early 1980’s when I began teaching, before testing became the focus of a district and the rule of measure for evaluating teacher, when teachers were allowed to actually teach content and encourage students to think. I rarely saw the same kids in a class year after year because the districts where I taught were so large. Working as a theater teacher and director in addition to teaching English allowed me to work with a handful of students for their full four year stint of high school. It was the reward that I needed and I was never at a loss for new blood and seasoned “friends.”