Teachers have above average pay? And esteem? Have you seen some of the education debates these days?
Yes, the vast majority of public school teachers earn above-average pay. In NJ, the school district I just moved out of paid starting, first-year (no experience) teachers with a BA over $50K/year with full benefits. The average HOUSEHOLD income in New Jersey is around $60K/year. Teachers cry poverty because in many communities some students parents make more than the teachers do, and that makes them feel unappreciated.
Yes, teachers are held in a position of esteem in most communities - it is very common for parents to teach their children to not only respect, but try and emulate their teacher (every community in America is not an inner-city war zone). There's an interesting phenomenon - everyone I ask says 'I respect teachers and think they should be paid much more than they are (they typically don't know what their child's teacher is paid, they 'just know' they are under-paid - because the teacher's union says they are), but NO ONE ELSE respects teachers. Watch how parents act at parent-teacher night, they (typically) respect teachers.
The education debates are one-sided money-grabs with teachers crying poverty to taxpayers that typically earn much less than them.