How you're paid depends a lot on where you live and work. The south pays horrible--and many of their school systems rank among the worst.
Raising teacher salaries would most likely result in a tax increase somewhere, and congress (which doesn't do shit), would let our school systems disintegrate from atrophy before they commit the political suicide of suggesting we raise taxes.
Teachers get holidays and summers off--all for no pay. There are no paid vacations for teachers. I plan about two hours a night at home (yes, homework is forever for teachers who are grading papers, working out lesson plans, and reflecting on their students and our own teaching techniques). There is no pay for the stuff you do at home--just like a salaried employee, although most teachers' salaries are based on an hourly wage.
The problem is politicians shouldn't be making decisions about education when they haven't set foot in a school since the day they graduated. Plus, all their decisions are motivated by a desire to get votes from people, not by what would be best for a child's education. And it's not just Democrats--it's nearly all the politicians in both parties.
Then they argue about meaningless things: school prayer, evolution, passing out birth control--crap like that--instead of working on the real problems that affect our kids in schools. The Federal Government should get out of education and let it go back to local control--a cornerstone of our democracy.
We let Burger King, Pepsi, and Nestle come into our schools and load our kids up on crap with exclusive contracts to place 20 or 30 vending machines throughout each school building. The cafeteria food is no better. It is loaded with processed crud and full of fat. Then we wonder why our kids are obese and have trouble paying attention in class when they're so full of sugar, excessive salt, and ubiquitous, unpronouncable chemicals.
Also, for a lot of states, there's the fraud of the Lottery. The politicians screwed that up too. Instead of giving schools the money they already had allocated to them plus the lottery money generated, they take a dollar away for each dollar they receive through the lottery (so the net effect is zero added dollars to the education fund).
Teachers do as they're told. The school board picks the textbook and curriculum, then requires teachers to stick to it like glue. Often times teachers know what students need, but it is difficult to give it to them because they cannot deviate from the standard, selected curriculum.
Then there is discipline. Teachers spend way too much time trying to maintain order in their classes from disruptive kids. Go to China and watch them teach. There are no disruptions. Students have manners and know how to behave. Their parents don't come rushing down to school, threatening the principal and defending their kids when they get in trouble for misbehavior.
Hate teachers if you must, but there are a lot of us who do the best we can everyday and are trying to bring good into our children's lives, to create positive environments and instill curiosity and a love a learning, endeavoring to teach them to stand on their own two feet and THINK deeply, clearly, and critically. Teachers aren't perfect, but a lot of us are really trying.
Talk radio bashes teacher unions--mostly because they try to counteract all the ill-conceived nonsense that politicians try to foist on the American public. The unions are not always right, but they also are not the Teamsters. They fight for smaller class sizes and for more equality among the rich and poor school systems.