Catching up with a backlog, I chanced upon this, so can say it's disappointing to see only half a dozen responses to such a well-written article.
Was surprised at attitude of last contributor, Jolanda. The attack on the writer as "only" a teacher appeared personal and smacked of prejudice prior to investigation.
School teachers, like most other tertiary educated workers complete several years of intensive generalist work to acquaint themselves with thinking and communicating in general.also acheiving acheiving a reliable body of knowledge concerning the real world,undergraduates seek to acquaint themselves also with specific syllabus and teaching issues.
Jolanda, what is your (presumably profound) level of education, that you dismiss a sincere writer as "only" a teacher?
For my part I would deeply sympathise with educated people having to cope with the interference of ignorant and prejudiced neurotics and uncomprehending control-freaks, in the course of their daily attempts at inculcating the techniques of thinking, communication and learning, as well as basic general knowledge denied by the odd flat-earther, into their students.
I go along with the writer.
Make education and learning an enjoyable process.
Keep the rednecks out, unless they are prepared to be open-minded and to contribute to the process, rather than just sitting back indulging in arm-chair criticisms. These only allow for unconscious demonstrations of personal ignorance and prejudice(s).
Another comment of value found indicates nothing has changed since the seventies though, as to parental uptightness and authoritarianism and resultant, inevitable drop out-ism.
Nothing new under the sun?

I didnt' say that she was only a primary school teacher. I said "only to find that she was a primary school teacher". There is a difference. The only person that was personal and attacked was you.

If teachers want parents to respect them and their position then they should do the same.

In every position there is good and bad and if teachers insist on focusing on the bad and discrediting the the parents and trying to blame the parents for everything then they shouldn't be suprised when parents and students learn and follow suit.

Everybody knows the education system is underfunded and under-resourced and children are being failed. Even the teachers complain but when the child isn't learning or things go wrong, they blame the parents - go figure.