Reclining in Coach Etiquette

Slate published an article called the Recline and Fall of Western Civilization in its irregular A Fine Whine column where writers complain about things as varied as Thanksgiving, lunch breaks, and royal weddings.
The woman sitting in front of me on this plane seems perfectly nice. She, like me, is traveling coach class from Washington to Los Angeles. She had a nice chat before takeoff with the man sitting next to her, in which she revealed she is an elementary school teacher, an extremely honorable profession.