Since the beginning of the 20th century, society's distrust of the educational system and the school has grown exponentially, attributing its deficiencies only or mainly to teachers, as if the latter were the authors of the frequent and contradictory educational reforms. Teachers have helplessly witnessed the deterioration of their image and a devaluation of the profession professor.

In 1975, the eminent pedagogue Víctor García-Hoz referred to it with these words: "From being a quiet activity, of calm dedication to the cultivation of science and cordial relations with those who want to acquire it, it has become a corner profession, little understood, much less appreciated, in which hardness has penetrated to the core of the teacher. With all these circumstances, are we creating a new class overwhelmed by the futility of their efforts, without illusion in their work, frustrated in their vocation?

Teachers continue to feel criticized and blamed by those they least expected: the parents of their students. The traditional trust and partnership of parents in teachers is disappearing, condemning them to an unjust and painful loneliness.

Most Education Secondary teachers feel undervalued by society as well, as confirmed by an OECD study published in 2014. I am referring to the " teaching and Learning International Survey", known as TALIS (Teaching and Learning International Survey), based on surveys of 3,339 teaching secondary school teachers around the world. One of its conclusions is that only 31 percent of these teachers feel valued by society. The percentage of Spaniards is lower than in general: only 8 percent feel that they have social recognition.

In earlier times, when a child complained about a teacher, the parents always took the teacher's side. Lately, some have always sided with the child, acting as his or her defense attorneys against the alleged authoritarianism of professor. In the past, parents recognized, valued and appreciated the teacher's knowledge and sacrifice, which contributed greatly to the teacher's reinforcement of his or her authority and identity as a professional at Education. In contrast, many (but not all) parents today are undermining that authority, to the detriment of their own children.

The current indiscipline and lack of respect of students towards teachers at teaching secondary school, which often leads to mistreatment, is often a reflection of the criticisms of their parents heard at home. These parents are often the same ones who demand that teachers totally replace them in their educational responsibility, reserving, in addition, the "right" to blame them for all the bad behaviors of their children. What is the sense of delegating all the Education to unreliable teachers?.

This status has been topic humorous in the media. One example:

Question from a journalist to a teacher at teaching secondary: "What is inclusive schooling?"

Answer: "The school in which we teachers are polyvalent. We act as parents, psychologists, policemen, even teachers".

Today's society relies on teachers to implement all kinds of changes. For example, the Education road and the prevention of alcohol and drug addiction. But then they are not given support to carry it out.

Parents' critical attitude is related to a disappointment: today's schools no longer guarantee their children's professional future. In earlier times, a good academic transcript and degree scroll opened the doors to the world of work, whereas today they are not enough. This is due to the gap between the preparation provided by schools and the new demands of the world of work, resulting from accelerated social change.

The expectations of the knowledge society can hardly be satisfied in the short term deadline and only by teachers. That is precisely why it is being proposed, from the highest political and cultural levels, that the knowledge society should be an educational society, in which everyone learns from everyone else.

The system educational is currently facing the difficult challenge of anticipating the demands of a society in constant transformation, providing teachers with a preventive training derived from an effective pedagogical prospective.

At this time it is more necessary than ever to socially vindicate the figure and the work of the teacher. That is the goal pursued by the celebration of World Teachers' Day, which highlights their educational and social work.