I'm married to a teacher and cannot tell you how much respect I have for teachers that are serious about their craft. First of all, remember that $65k number is an average. That includes teachers that have been in the classroom their entire career (25-35 years). Imagine what you would make in your industry if you were a 25-35 year vet. I've worked in the tech industry for all of 5 years and make well over six figures. My wife is a goddamn genius. She can take your kid, no matter how challenging, and teach them 5 different ways to solve any math problem they'll encounter in school. That is not an easy thing to do, and moreover it's not the kind of thing that most people are willing to take the time to do. If anything, she is underpaid in my opinion.
It's true, that teachers get a couple of months off in the summer. Some of them use that to go out of the country and party sure, we've all seen The Hangover. Most of the teachers that are not just skating by however, use that time to take professional development courses and further their career. It's rare that my wife and I can take more than 1-2 weeks off in the summers, because she always has a conference or training to attend. The flexibility that she has during those months is nice, don't get me wrong, but she sure as hell isn't just sitting on her butt at home watching Real Housewives. She's trying to figure out how to get the most out of her summer to push her career in education forward, while at the same time recharging for another school year of pissed off parents and frustrating administrators to deal with.
This thread pops up a couple of times a year and is getting tired. All of you haughty devs, sales reps, and account managers that are s***ting on teachers need to understand that the worst parts of your job are the worst parts of theirs too. Got a client that is a pain to deal with? So do they, but it's some kid's wealthy parent that's threatening legal action. Got a boss breathing down your neck to hit that project deadline? So do they, but it's an admin demanding whatever sorcery is required to hit those standardized test scores. Got an account that churned out? The teacher has a student that took their own life over the break and is asking themselves what they could've done differently.
I'm not saying that teachers are perfect, saints, or that it isn't their choice to embrace a profession that is known to pay less than others. I'm saying that if you think you're better than them, or that they are overcompensated that you are flat out wrong.