How should teacher's of today be paid? A Teacher's perspective

Teachers' hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or 10 months a year! It's time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do ... babysit! We can get that for minimum wage. That's right. Let's give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked; NOT ANY OF THAT SILLY PLANNING TIME BEFORE OR AFTER SCHOOL, LESSON PLANS, OR GRADING TESTS ......... That would be $19.50 ...a day ... (7:45 to 3:00 with 45 min. off for lunch and planning. That equals 6 1/2 hours). Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to babysit their children. Now, how many students do they teach in a day ... maybe 30? So that's $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day. However, remember they only work 180 days a year! I'm not going to pay them for any vacations. LET'S SEE ... That's $585 X 180 = $105,300 per year. Hold on! My calculator needs new batteries. What about those special education teachers and the ones with Masters degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage ($7.75), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an hour. That would be $8 X 6 1/2 hours X 30 children X 180 days = $280,800 per year. Wait a minute -- there's something wrong here! There sure is! The average teacher's salary (nation wide) is $50,000. $50,000/180 days = $277.77/per day/30 students = $9.25/6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student -- a very inexpensive baby sitter and they even EDUCATE your kids!! WHAT A DEAL!! Make a teacher smile, re-post this to show appreciation for all educators! -Author unknown

I thought this was a great way to begin the discussion about education. As I pay my bill every month, I am reminded of what the working poor do each and every 30 days. I enjoy my career that's what counts... right?