Teacher education is an issue we really must address, and Rebecca, I would love to get a copy of your book!
In my department, I am trying to make the argument that there need to be more courses on language, but I keep facing those who see the mission of an English department as that of teaching literature.  My latest approach is to point to the new Praxis exam (the licensure exam for teachers) and ask if the English curriculum reflects the representation of Praxis topics.  Overall, (according to the ETS Test at a Glance booklet) approximately 38% of the questions on the exam are about language (and composition).  I'm hoping to get our department to add at least a course on History of the English Language to the teacher ed requirements, but I would really like to see a whole program emerge. I'm still trying to figure out where all this resentment (or is it fear?) of linguistics came from.  I suspect it has to do with learning styles.