A Deciding Factor in the Election??

You know what? Maybe the election shouldn't be decided on who has more cars or homes or the funkiest accent or the best lineage or any of that other stuff.

Maybe the election should be decided solely on the who has the best plan for paying teachers more.

Because I can tell you, they are not paid enough.

I've been subbing the last couple of weeks. I have a teaching degree, so I get $90 a day. I'm not complaining -- it's $90 more than I would have otherwise. And I'm more grateful for the social aspect than anything else. But that's about $12 an hour for teaching (hopefully) a room of about 20 friends.

My baby-sitter gets $8 - $10 for watching just my two children. And we don't ask much more of her than that they are alive when we get home.

Now.... I know I'm just "subbing" and I make far less than a real, live, under-contract teacher makes. But I don't have nearly the workload they have, either.

I get to stroll into a classroom in the morning, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Ready to hit the ground running. And much like a grandparent, I can enjoy myself -- because I know I get to give my friends back at the end of the day.

Not so for my teacher friends. My real, live teacher friends have to do plans and grade papers and stress about testing and monitor for learning issues and emotional issues and keep an eye out for child abuse and make sure children who learn to hit at home learn not to hit their friends and make sure the peanut-free kids are at the right table and deal with accidents when their friends don't make it to the potty and teach manners and make sure everyone gets home at the end of the day and the list goes on and on.

I think every parent, and more importantly, every political candidate should have to spend a few days subbing. My, how eye-opening that would be. And I'm betting that if that happened, my teacher friends would find out that they aren't just appreciated in a "Hey, you taught my kid something" kind of way, but in a financial way as well.