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This is more like it (my comments in italics)

Hate to burst the bubble, but my wife has been a teacher for 30 years in Texas.(low cost of living) She just started earning $50K,(for not a full years work) after 30 years of service.(whose fault is this?) When she started teaching, the paid was about $7K.(1971 dollars) My son, 20 years old, started his first real job last year at $21K, full benefits, stock options, etc.(2000 dollars) I hope in 30 years he makes more then $50K.(probably 500k, which will be worth what 7k was in 1971)

She pays for her health insurance.(everybody pays for their health insurance except people in prison) How many employees of private companies pay their health insurance? (all of them) I do not at my company,(yes, you do) and neither does my son.(yes, he does)

Also the story has been that the teachers have not had a contract since this summer.(what's a contract? Just about everyone else is an "at will" employee) What is wrong with the administration? (the problem is that there is an administration) They cannot complete a new contract in a timely manner?(why should they? are they gonna get fired?) How many of you would go to work tomorrow without knowing what you would be paid, what benefits you would have and who is going to pay for these benefits. (all of these these things are changable without notice for the vast majority of us. I guess we're all idiots..and I guess you've never heard of "commissioned sales") Would you accept your management saying “Trust us”?(If I don;t, then I might as well quit) It is not unreasonable to expect workers not to work without an agreement.(the agreement is I agree to work here, and you pay me what I'm worth. If you don't, I'll leave. If you can't pay me...then the employer will have a bunch of great employees leaving. )

Now no one has talked about the expenses teachers incur supporting their job.(so? Tax deduction..if you can't, thank the government) My wife pays for many supplies and other teaching items out of her paycheck.(we all pay for our supplies by going out to the backyard and shaking the money tree a little bit) I know of no private employee that expects their employees to supply items such as office supplies so that they can complete their job.(I guess you know a lot of Burger King workers)

Let’s talk work time, 9 months, no. My wife works from early Aug. till middle of June.(most of us idiots have to work all of June, July, and August. Some of us might get a 2 week vacation that might be used during these months) Yes she gets one week at Thanksgiving,(I got two days this year) X-Mas (I'm taking one of my two full weeks then) and Spring (is that the one between winter and fall?). She has no paid vacation.(then it's not a vacation. It's an unpaid leave of abscense.) After 30 years of service, I know many private employees who qualify for 8 - 10 weeks paid vacation time.(Yep. the free market works great) Therefore they also are only working 9 - 10 months.(the vast majority of those types work during their vacations. those that don't are in unions)

Now let’s talk time on the clock. My wife leaves for work @ 7 am, comes home @ 5 pm. We live 15 –20 minutes from work, so commute time is not the issue. She plans and grades tests after dinner and on the weekends. These hours are normal for most teachers. When you look at the normal working hours per year in America, that total is 2080 hours. I guarantee you that my wife works those hours, but in the ten months.( any professional works many more hours than this at much harder jobs. they actually have to produce to keep their jobs. there's no monopoly to protect them. correcting papers is not stressful)

Lastly let’s talk about break and lunchtime.(what's that?). She may get a short 10-minute break in the morning. Many days she gets no break.(oh...my...God!) Only in the last few years did my wife receive a duty free lunch of 30 minutes.(keep pluggin' away, and some day you'll grab the brass ring) How many would work and eat lunch at the same time for the last 25 years of your career?(if I even eat lunch, I'm usually working..although sometimes I'm freeping) Now I know many small business owners do, because I did it when I owned a small business. There were days my wife would come home and would not stop to ever say "Hello", because she did not have a bathroom break all day. And forget calling her at work, no phone calls.(now THAT's legitimate...it's impossible to get a teacher on the phone during the workday. sounds like my idea of heaven on some days...)

Please compare this with most workers day, an 8 hour day, 1 hour duty free lunch, two 15 minute breaks, and lots of personal phone calls.(union workers and entry level office personnel)

Freepers most teachers earn their money the old fashion way, they work hard for it! (teachers do earn their money; if they want to earn what they're truly worth, the education must be privatized)

Are there problems with the school system, yes, are teachers the main cause of the problems, no. (I agree, teachers are acting in their own self-interest, like they should)Teachers are only a cog in the system, there are many other areas to examine first.(problem is that there is a "system", not a free market) If anyone is interested I will be glad to discuss the GM workers in Calif that were blamed for building bad cars, and how Toyota used the same workers to build GM's highest rated auto.(yes, bad mangement and union pressures. the free market fixed that)

I'm sure you and your wife are great people, and I'm not trying to ridicule either of you. I empathize with her, because clearly she deserves more than what she is earning. But things can be tough all over, and the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

Just a little perspective; there is no gun to your wife's head, and the reason her working conditions are sub-par is because the government has a monopoly one of our most important industries, education.

Thanks for contributing!