This paper outlines a set of ideas for improving teacher quality in America's schools. In it, the author proposes a combination of incremental steps and ambitious ones, designed to stimulate policymakers, practitioners, and the public to accelerate efforts to develop high-quality teachers. The paper has four main sections. First, the author provides a brief assessment of the current state of teaching in America, identifying five core challenges reformers must address if they are serious about improving teacher quality. Second, the author posits a new, broader conceptualization of the teaching profession. Third, the author provides specific recommendations for how to better recruit, prepare, place, incentivize, and hold accountable the teachers America requires. Finally, having recently lived and breathed the Chicago teacher strike, the author concludes with some thoughts about the trajectory of organized labor, and what it might do to support the development of a stronger teacher workforce in America. (Contains 17 notes.)