This paper explores the problems of recruiting the most qualified individuals to the teaching profession. Part 1 discusses the premise that supply and demand in teacher education are subject to the market forces that influence career choices in other fields. An analysis is given of how those fluctuations operate to reduce the intellectual quality of teachers. The financial status of teachers relative to other fields is summarized. It is noted that the relative financial position of teachers is unlikely to change. Part 2 discusses factors other than salary that influence job satisfaction of teachers. It briefly suggests the complexities associated with those factors, and it suggests a direction of change that would make the public schools more pleasant workplaces. In part 3, proposals to attract more able people to teaching are described and a specific plan of action is offered. The appendix provides SAT scores for national samples and students in the six member universities of Coalition of Teacher Education Programs (COTEP): Ball State, Butler, Indiana, Indiana State, Purdue, and the University of Evansville. The data shows that the SAT scores vary considerably among the six COTEP institutions. The Indiana data generaly reflect national trends; those who elect to teach are less able than college students as a whole. (JD)