More work than what peers? Are some teachers in Detroit making significantly more than others?
I have worked in the Oil Industry for 35 years and have never been offered a benefits package like some teachers have.
As for not being judged for "extracurricular activities", what's next, hit men? ...drug dealers?
Sure, you can be judged to be morally fit or not based on what you do in the community on your own time. Teachers are supposed to be role models.
If you don't like your day job, quit.
“I have worked in the Oil Industry for 35 years and have never been offered a benefits package like some teachers have.”
Here in NJ they are our upper middle class; many a home has gone into foreclosure paying our sky-high property taxes (3/4 of which goes to public school teachers). At least now there is scrutiny of their compensation; a few years ago one of our newspapers published online all of the salaries of all public school teachers in NJ, and many taxpayers have viewed them as the enemy they are ever since.