Bah. My sister teaches 8th grade in a public school and makes some decent coin. Do whatever job you wanna do, but for christ's sake, shut up about the pay.
You picked the career, and everyone knows that the pay isn't great, so don't piss and moan because you don't get paid enough. You've got arguably the most influential labor union in America behind you. If they're not getting it done, vote your leadership out.
I've honestly never understood this. This "teachers don't make enough" shit has been going on since I was a kid. Since I graduated HS in 1988, I figure people who like to work with children have had ample time to determine a different career path.
Maybe if enough of you decided against teaching, then people would recognize how valuable you are, and supply/demand would kick in. But nope... every year, more self-seen martyrs churn themselves out of the colleges, acting like they're answering some kind of calling, and bitching about the pay all the way to the grave.
Does it suck? Absolutely, and I vote for salary increases for teachers and more $$$ for schools every time a measure comes up. But if you don't like working outside, maybe you shouldn't become a construction worker. Don't like getting shot at? The Army's a bad move. And if you want a high-paying job, clearly public education isn't where you should be.
I'd expect someone responsible for educating children to be able to make the deduction.
