I do think they are well compensated considering they only work 2/3 of the year
OH REALLY?!?
I feel bad for your kids teachers!
I assume we are talking about the main home-room morning teacher/ Rebbi. You are obviously not in any position of understanding the job of a teacher.
You try sitting in a classroom with 30 kids every day. It doesn't matter what age. You try having the patience dealing with 30 different, and some challenging, personalities for hours a day. You try teaching material in an interesting way and grabbing the attention of each student in the classroom, while every single word you say is weighed and measured and you are held accountable. One second of lost temper can cost them their job.
Most good teachers/ Rabeim go through extensive training just for the classroom management part of teaching. Many of our fine teachers/ Rabeim go home after school and plotz from exhaustion.
Then, when they go home, they are not done. There is hours of preparation of the materiel. A small slip-up in class can cause a teacher a lot of trouble. Everything has to be 100% accurate. Then there's typing sheets, grading papers, dealing with parents on a nightly basis. Yes, in a classroom of 30, most teachers will spend hours upon hours with parents weekly. Then there's discussing issues with principals etc. A teacher who leaves their classroom at 1, will usually not get home until 3.
Maybe drive by your children's teacher's house and see when their lights go off at night. They are on call weekends too. Rabeim don't even have Sundays off. Not one day to "just catch up" on things.
Then there are meetings, training, networking, etc. which happen out of the class time.
Teaching is not for everyone. But as you and some others show in their posts, it is a thankless job. Teachers are professional as are lawyers and doctors. The only difference is, teachers have less free time and still can't pay their bills.
And btw, it is pretty disgusting how are system is set up. Rabeim and Mechanchos are on completely different pay scales. In many ways, it is harder for for the women. They have to still take care of their house and children like every mother, and still hold out the same responsibilities as the Rabeim. Why do they get paid 1/4 what the Rabeim get. They also do not share the same benefits. In any other society, the women would get together and take action..