In today's world, people have more ways to gain knowledge. Some people say that teachers are not as appreciated as teachers in the past. I agree with them because people have more ways to gain knowledge and the level of teachers drops down.
Firstly, people can learn in a variety of ways in the modern society so they do not depend on teachers so much. In the past, we had limited resources for our learning, so we need to rely on what our teacher said in class. Now we have abundant resources  As a college student, if I want to learn further about the history of my hometown, I can search on the Internet for some videos and pictures or go to the local museum to appreciate the elaborate masterpieces. If I am curious about how a factory works as a whole, I can take part in the visiting activity held by our student union. Also, some teachers knowledge may seem outdated in this quick-developing age, so some  student may have different ideas with their teacher. Then teachers will be less valued now.
Secondly, the quality of teacher has dropped down. Since college graduates have more career choices, chances are large that the best group students will choose a better-paid job than teachers, such as financial engineer, lawyer and dentist. According to my aunt, a teacher of a primary school in our local community, her salary is 3000 yuan a month. Apparently, the poor financial reward cannot attract the top-tier graduates. Then the teaching ability cannot be secured. Some teachers even punish students physically in order to force them obey the rules. In such situation, how can the parents respect and trust the teachers?
In conclusion, teachers nowadays gain less respect and appreciation by the society.