The author reviews four factors that contribute to the reduction of the authority and power of teachers: the Far Right, the Christian Right, the standards movement, and the decline in the use of collective bargaining. As a result of these initiatives, teachers are forced to abandon many progressive educational practices and embrace educational philosophies alien to them; stand by while useful courses such as music, art, physical education, and creative writing are eliminated; adopt drill and grill activities rather than open-ended discussion with students; and forsake any sense of a unique individual school identity and philosophy. Therefore, teaching is fast becoming an unattractive, if not demeaning, profession.