In the United States, those who teach currently face opposition from a variety of sources that seek to weaken the professional status of teachers. This article seeks to better understand what it means to be professional and analyzes the teaching occupation for indicators of professional status. This analysis finds that even though teachers exhibit many qualities of professionals, their inability to claim specialized knowledge in a language that separates them from the lay public results in a weakening of their professional status that opens teachers to interference from education outsiders.