<p>Zoosermom,</p>
<p>My basic point is that the question poses by the OP is a symptom of how teaching as a profession has been stereotyped among the greater public and IME…even among faculty/grad students in other graduate divisions on the same elite university campuses, as a profession for academic mediocrities.</p>
<p>Rightly or wrongly, those stereotypes have been developed over a few decades and as a pernicious chicken or egg problem/effect, a sizable portion of those who enter the education field are popularly perceived as graduates in the lower half of their graduating undergrad classes. A phenomenon referenced by Xiggi and a few other commenters. </p>
<p>While there has been some improvements, these stereotypes will take longer than a decade to eradicate from the greater popular consciousness. Especially considering the very title of the OP post is a symptom of such negative stereotypes.</p>