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I don't know what bubble you think you're bursting, but no bubble of mine. A lot of people get deductions taken out of their paychecks for health care, even if you don't. When you calculate health care as part of total compensation -- its market value, mind you, not the "price" we pay as a deduction -- it looks like those teachers are getting a square deal.

Most Americans work without a contract. Teachers who don't have a contract need to get over it.

With time off for summer vacations, the amount of hours your wife works evens out. (Yeah, I know, she spends every waking moment of her summers working on her teaching.)

After spending a few solid years working at building their curriculum -- if, indeed it is a solid, timeless, well thought out curriculum -- most teachers do not need to reinvent that curriculum year after year, and therefore can cut down immensely on their workload. By focusing on teaching and not busy work, and by creating study guides and other materials efficiently, they can teach their students more, spend less time working outside the classroom, and get better results from students. Most teachers, however saintly we wish to regard them, "end up" in their professions -- by choice. Most universities' education departments are filled with people who can't make up their mind what they want to do or can't or won't handle the demands of other professions.

Stop puffing up the profession. Teachers have to teach kids. This is a job a lot of people can learn to do. It is not rocket science -- look how many parents homeschool their kids. We pay for teaching based on the market -- how much we value it and how much or little providers are willing to accept for it. Let's leave it to the intelligent market.

If your wife is a good teacher, God bless her. If she's looking to make her fortune or distinguish herself, she will be disappointed.

Exactly! Maybe teachers could make more money if the unions stopped giving so much of their hard earned money to Democrats. Perhaps, if the teachers stood up & agreed to a results based pay scale.....we would have much better teachers. Teachers that get the best results should get paid the most. Of course, the only way that will happen is if the schools are privatized.

If you tigers think it is such a cush job, why not do it yourselves? Even at what you think are grossly inflated salaries, there are teacher shortages in every state in the union. Openings are available hotshots! Kids are getting so screwed up so bad that they can't find qualified people willing to put up with them at any available price.

As far as the free market goes, it is only a factor on the macroscale, not the micro. What I mean to say is that while teaching as a whole competes with other professions (and is losing out to those professions at an unsustainable rate from sea to shining sea) individual teachers are not in the 'free market'. It is a socialist style economy, with the best teacher your kid ever had making not one cent more than the worst

I am also not very comfortable with the idea of judges putting people in jail for refusing to work when they DO NOT HAVE A CONTRACT. Have you guys thought about that.

What a tyrant! The founding fathers would have had a serious problem with his excellency the slave master. C'mon, Freepers, where are your ideals for FREEEEEDOOMMMM!