crucker:

Oh, please...the time off that most teachers have--weekends, holidays, and 8 weeks off in the summer--more than makes up for your salary 'disparity.' And, c'mon--a lawyer or a doctor is necessary...a teacher, in most public schools, is little more than a glorified childcare worker who throws a bit of learning here and there to kids who really aren't that interested...

Teachers, I've noticed, as there are some in my family, LOVE to complain...and have the time to do it! Frequently!

This is a common sentiment among a lot of people who have no connection to education; usually, they are conservatives.

You're right. Teachers get a lot of time off. And many professions make great demands on people. But there is a flipside to this: we have a severe shortage of teachers. They are like any other employee; if they are unhappy, they'll find work elsewhere, and that's exactly what they're doing. So you can dismiss the complaints of people in my profession all you want, but that doesn't address the very real problem of shortages. Those shortages, by the way, are being suffered by all schools--public schools, private schools, charter schools.

As for the "daycare worker" characterization: why don't you teach? Why not do it yourself, and show everyone how easy it is? You seem to think schools go out of their way to find the worst candidates. I mean, heck, with all the vacation time, the (relatively) decent wages (in some districts, anyway)...you'd think people were banging on the doors of principals around the country to get a job. But they aren't.

So what do you do? Is education just not important enough to worry about?