Overall, should teacher salaries in the US be increased?

[RR1997]

Of course (sane)

I've heard that teacher salaries are around $45,000 a year in Illinois (correct me if I'm wrong). That's a ridiculously low payment. Good public school teachers deserve to make at least around $100,000-$120,000 a year.

Absolutely. At the same time, I think teacher pay should be individualized. Most good and bad public school teachers get paid around the same, which I think is ridiculous.

^
I also have to agree with ElectionsGuy on this issue.

[RR1997]

Obviously. Teachers should be paid like doctors.

Although I do believe that teachers should be paid more, I don't think that they should be paid as well as doctors are. First of all doctors have to go through MUCH more schooling than teachers do (much more college debt), being a doctor is a much more stressful job (especially cardiac surgery and neurosurgery, one little screw up and you're done), doctors have MUCH longer work hours and days worked a year than teacher do, doctors have to pay for malpractice insurance and typically face quite a few lawsuits, the on-call schedule (working all day) that doctors have to sometimes go through is a pain, doctors have to face much more excessive bureaucracy, and the list goes on and on.

I mean the average neurosurgeon makes $500,000 a year and nuerosurgeons can make up to $800,000 a year. Doctors typically make around $160,000 to $800,000 a year (depends on speciality). Should there really be public schools teachers making that kind of money?