Last night I watch a news story on KSL about teachers in Utah. It discussed how many teachers in Utah have a second job to support their family. "We" say we want our students to have the best education. However, when it comes to a teacher shortage, instead of paying teachers more, they lower the standards for teacher requirements. Therefore, allowing our students to be taught by less qualified teachers. 
I always hear people say, "Teachers don't do it for the money." Ummmm..... YES WE DO! It is a truly wonderful thing to see the light of understanding flicker on in a student, but that is not the only reason why we work.... long hours.
We don't just teach your child the core. We teach our students to be polite, tie their shoes, cough into their vampire arms, keep their hands out of their pants, wash their hands, pick up what you dropped, don't hit, be nice, work together, say you're sorry, take turns, don't be afraid to try, do your best, believe in yourself.... oh, and then we teach reading, writing, math, science, music, health, P.E. and social studies.
We are their teachers, cheerleaders, friends and in some cases their mom and dad. We zip up their coats. We find their lost lunch box. We console them when they cry. We clean up their bathroom accidents. We go to work sick because it is too hard to get a substitute in Utah... especially on a Friday. We do it all with a smile on our face. Your children spend more waking hours with us a day than you.
YES, we love our jobs and our students, but so do many people in many professions. Just because your doctor LOVES medicine doesn't mean you expect him to do his job for less money.
I hope someday soon things will change for the better. They have to or we will run our education system into the ground.