Over the years, the reputation of teachers in the US has taken a bit of a pounding.
It's unfair, in my view, as I've never met a bad teacher yet in all my years of dealing with them in my hometown and further afield.
Nonetheless, conservatives in particular seem to be willing to bash the profession and its trade unions on a regular basis for one reason or another.
I was intrigued, therefore, by an idea taking root in the state of West Virginia where a major teachers' union - The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) - is teaming up with some pretty big US corporations - and you can't get more conservative than those guys - to help out ailing schools.
The project is taking place in McDowell County, an area that faces tough economic challenges and whose school test results have been among the lowest in the country.
The initiative, called "Reconnecting McDowell", aims to turn things around in five years.
I met Jim Brown, the su