Listening to the radio this morning

Welcome back....  I am a fan of talk radio and was listening to an AM station this morning on the way to work.  The hosts were talking about the strike going on in Madison, WI and a teacher called in and essentialy said, "I've been teaching for a while now, a teacher who has been in the system for a while gets  paid more than the average person, and the retirement benefits are more than adequate."  The hosts then proceeded to talk about how student achivement is pathetic (bad teaching implied here)  and how America scores on the low end of the scale, etc.....  oh and how people should go into teaching because of their love for students, not the money.  Ok, so here are my thoughts....  1)  I can't speak for every teacher, but I know I am in this profession for the love of students and wanting to see them successful in live... not the money.  2)  Teachers have to make a living too, therefore money is important, not the most important thing, but still important.  3)  Its amazing how people automatically connect low performing students with "bad teachers."  Are there bad teachers in the system?  Unfortunately, yes.  These people should find another profession, how about fly fishing?  But consider how there is zero parent and student accountability (you can't be "fired" from being a bad parent).  Teachers cannot control what goes on outside of school and therefore has little control over how much studying or working on educational material occurs.....  These are my thoughts for this morning, what do you think?