Teachers Overpaid?

Researching ideas for my website over the weekend, I came across a discussion board that suggested that teachers are grossly overpaid. My mouth literally dropped as I read this statement.

The average teacher starting out makes about 30-40 thousand a year. This is hardly overpaid considering most of these teachers have an bachelors degree and are working for their masters. A teacher who has been teaching for years and has received a tenure makes a maximum of 60 thousand a year. Compared to other careers with similar credentials, an educators paycheck is not nearly as generous

Another point that most people do not seem to take into consideration is that teaching is NOT a 40 hour a week job. Many have this misconception that a teachers work ends as soon as the bell rings and the school day is over. What these people do not realize is that teachers do most of their work OFF THE CLOCK! After the bell finally does ring, they go on to their off the clock duties. This begins with after school help, which may take anywhere from 15 minutes to 3-4 hours. Then when it is time to go home the rest of the day( and most of the weekend) is consumed with grading tests and papers, writing up lesson plans, and preparing lectures. And I havn’t even touched on faculty responsibilities including numerous faculty meetings and countless workshops.

Yes I do agree that teachers have certain benefits that most jobs do not. It is also nice, especially if you’re raising a family, to know that you have holidays and summers off. However, most teachers end up working over these holidays. Since a good percentage of teachers who are just starting out are still working for their masters degree, the summers are usually a time to go to school. Also over the summer, and this especially goes for elementary school teachers, teachers spend countless hours in a hot classroom preparing classrooms with bulletins, borders, and learning centers.

So, are our teachers overpaid? Considering thier long hours and educational backround, I think not.