It's no secret that teachers across America do some of the nation's most important work for some of its most measly pay. Unfortunately, this has been an ongoing trend for decades, but now it may have reached a boiling point as teachers quit at the fastest rate on record.

The Wall Street Journal reports that teachers quit at a rate of 83 departures for every 10,000 teachers per month. While this is lower than the national average of departures due to the noted job stability of teaching, the departures are still the fastest in the 17 years since the statistics started being recorded.