I was a high school English teacher and I am now considering becoming an ESL teacher. I want to teach but I am over dealing with the disrespectful and unmotivated regular ed students. I have heard that ESL teachers have respectful students who are eager to learn the language. I would like to hear especially from teachers on this. Thanks.
Also, what are the pros and cons of being an ESL teacher vs a regular ed teacher?

I am one of the "ELD" teachers at my school site. English Language Development. the pros: the families of these children are wonderful, they are very concerned with respectful behavior and it is usually the first question that they ask at the conferences. the children have more discipline. their families want them to have all of the opportunities that they can have. The children are very sweet, they are SO EXCITED when they learn something! It is wonderful to see them apply their knowledge in the classroom.

Cons: test scores. I know, I know- you probably hate them too. Well..... in my state, we have a very high population of ELL students and it is very important for the schools to be moving the students on their tests into what shows to be a more proficient level. I think that is a huge crock of shit (test scores) but am bound to them. I think that the pros outweigh the cons- test scores are just numbers that the state looks at- they will never go into your classroom to see the children's faces light up when they can FINALLY relate to what we are doing in the classroom.
So, in a nut shell- yes. ELL students are very eager and are very respectful- It is just their culture to respect their teacher, and their elders (for the most part). I would recomend going ELL- or ESL as you say- and really see some positive growth in your students.

I really wish you all the best-
Good Luck!!! :)

From a retired teacher of 26 years..........
right now the political climate is SO anti-Spanish, I'm surprised you would consider this....in Colorado the school districts are ENGLISH ONLY and ESL teachers are losing their jobs.
Yes, Hispanic students are more respectful, but their skills are low because education in Mexico generally is much poorer than US.
I would recommend getting a master's degree in Library Science. You could stay with public schools as a Media Specialist or move into the University/Community college scene, make more money, and not spend your life grading papers.
Good luck! Jan

an esl teacher has students that has second language students while a regular teacher has students who don't need that much help with english, hard to expain I guess???

Yeah it's true, because as an ESL teacher your students are only those that actually want to be there or they're sacrificing either money or time to be there. So they'll want to get the most out of it.

it's the same i think. i did esl overseas without any liscence or qualifications. in that case some students care and some like playing with a foriegner but just as many liked to fool around and didn't want to do work. I also subbed in NY and did esl sometimes and everything else. I don't think all the esl kids even in america particularly care anymore than the rest of the students. Language is very hard and some are frustrated, some are latin gang bangers and don't much care for school and all this. Of course some kids care and maybe a slightly higher percentage than in other classes. Remember thses kids are part of the regular classes too. I remember one kid who was unmotivated and having a tough time with english, a big kid somewhat obnoxious and intimidating but he was nice. He had some trash to talk about his regular teacher and probably gave her a hard time and gave me a hard time but as i say generally nice.

I originally taught in China and i remember a chinese kid in NY. wasn't very good with the language hadn't been here long and i think americans aren't as accepting of asian men, some people like asian women no one particularly likes asian men. So some students if you speak thier particular language, you may be the only one who does is what i'm saying.

with all students thier excitement level, respect and motivation has a lot to do with the teacher... and other factors. It's hard to be charismatic especially trying to win over high school students. And to pump them up and be interested in shakespear and writing essays, i wouldn't know how.

Teaching abroad may be something you're interested in. poor countries obviously don't pay well but if you're an actual teacher you may be able to get into an actual country. not some desperate 3rd world gig.

even if the percentage of bad kids is the same in esl, the classes are much smaller so you should have fewer to worry about. If we think about group dynamics, someone may always play that role. Some one may always take the lead as limit tester or provoker. idk

pros/ cons- in smaller districts you may teach at 2 or more schools, could be good could be bad. It gives you an extra break for travel time betwen schools meaning fewer classes. You'll still have your lesson plans and things you want to accomplish teaching them english but part of your job in a US public school is helping the kids with thier regular homework and projects. So half your lesson time is going over what they did in other classes. I think it's also more of an informal atmosphere. You're more like a reasource teacher than an actual teacher. Some may come to take tests and things like that. Chit chatting about things in class can be legitimate practice of thier language skills.