No teacher expects to get rich - we just want respect and pay commensurate with the job we do. In reference to Joan Layne's letter, the opening compliment to teachers is greatly appreciated. The pay for nurses, firefighters, police, teachers and others who so dramatically impact our lives is pitifully small. These professions are usually chosen because of a desire to reach out and help others, and each of our lives is greatly impacted by this dedication to serve rather than by a desire to get rich or to have perks. The 10th day is put in reserve to pay us on days off.
Federal holidays are the only paid holidays.
No pay is received during the summer unless a teacher teaches summer school or has money taken out of each check to put aside for the summer months. Evenings, weekends and holidays are spent planning lessons, doing research, grading papers, contacting parents and wading through endless paperwork. All of this is a necessity and is accepted as just a part of the job. For most of us who become teachers, nurses, police officers, firefighters or paramedics, touching the lives of those we're here to serve in a positive manner is the reason we do what we do. I am a teacher in Hillsborough County.