Stratosjoe, I did not intend to insult you or your wife. I did state that I think teachers should be paid for their work. I for one could not tolerate 40 sceaming 12-13 year old brats in one room. (joke but not a joke).

My point is that we do not need to bust unions in order to "save the country". The other point was simply whas how the public preceives teachers. Just like you alluded to in your republican democrat statement, the underpaid teachers are the primary image. There are perks to the teaching profession that are not well publicized. Perhaps if these perks were better known we would have more teachers like your wife with excellent qualifications teaching in our schools.