OK, I have stayed out of this long enough! I am a teacher and have been since 1983. I am at the top of the pay scale for my district...after 27 years I should be. The top pay in my system is no where near the amounts quoted here. I also do not have the great benefits that people have mentioned.

In NY state you would be making 6 figures, 95 percent of your health benefits would be paid for, and when you decided to retire you would collect 75 percent of your salary for life. This is just in upstate NY. Laurie, it does not sound like you are making anything close to this. If I lived in Mass I would probably be fighting for higher teacher's pay.

College graduates do mostly make more than the average citizen. I don't see anything wrong with that.

Another point about public school salaries - teachers do not pay Social Security taxes. For us in the dreaded private sector, 12.4% of our pay goes to Social Security taxes (6.2% directly out of our paycheck, with another 6.2% deducted prior).

In other words, a teacher making $50,000 a year brings home $3,100 more than a private school teacher counter part.

Not an English teacher, a librarian and this is the internet so grammar means nothing.

Ah yes, but they don't get any social security benefits either...

Not an English teacher, a librarian and this is the internet so grammar means nothing. If you are so concerned with grammar and spelling go become an English teacher. If i told you my salary you would scream....ok I am a smug jerk so I will 85+ ... chew on that. It is work after all not a charity. I should get paid whatever I or in my stead my union can negotiate. This is America that is how it works. I make 0 apologies for making decent money.
If you are unhappy with your money or benefits negotiate harder, work harder or join a union, their is strength in numbers.
Yes I spread right wing corporate hate about the corporate exploitation of the worker. It is a text book fact. You can still see it in action in any third world country. Corporations who pay penny on the dollar to their workers, employ children and pollute their land. The reason for the great environmental, and workers rights turn around in this country can be attributed to progressive ideas. BTW the reason we have a much cleaner environment now is also because greedy corporations took their jobs to china also taking with them their pollution. Go check out how polluted china is now.

I have friends at corporations making two to three times as much however. And yes they work more blah blah blah. But the teaching day was set up around different times and that is not our fault I would gladly go to trimesters and work the summers to get a little more ski time off. BTW an extra cost of teaching is you vacation when everyone else and their kids do. So everything is twice as expensive. No mid week ski ticket discounts, no off holiday discounts, and crowded crappy weekend ski conditions.
Sorry to be so snide, but I am really sick of hearing how lazy and smug teachers are and how good they have it. I am happy when other people have success so should you be. I do not complain that my plumber gets like 50 an hour or my car mechanic 72, good for them and good for all of you who can make a success financially or other wise.
Yeah really!!! My bad, Native American giver!!