The problem isn't that teachers are underpaid, it's that they're all paid the same grid, and that some of them are exceptionally poor.
As in any profession, some people are good at it at and some people aren't. Unfortunately, the ATA makes it essentially impossible for school boards to get rid of poor performers. Bad teachers shuffle from school to school, leaving damaged students in their wake (see above).
I know a number of great teachers, and the fact that they have to cover for their co-workers mistakes makes them angry, and more likely to burn out.
As to the poster who said just get a better job, the problem is, many of the good and competent ones do, leaving the duds to stay and fill a space until they get their pension.
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