I'm not saying that teachers don't care about the kids, although there are good and bad teachers like in every other profession, i'm saying the unions don't give a fuck. We were lucky that my daughter' went to really good schools and her teachers were 95% fantastic at school, less so but still perfectly adequate since she's been at a sixth form college so I've no personal axe to grind but some of the stories I've heard from parents whose kids went to schools less focused on giving them a good education make my blood boil.
I agree with your point that teachers these days get far less respect from both parents and pupils which has made their job so much harder