For over the past year or two, I have consistantly read the web posts of the Butler citizens. Throughout that time, there have been many different moments that I wanted to post a comment, and decided I would much rather read the posts and be entertained, than get involved in your discussions. However, I can no longer bite my tounge. As a Butler area native, and a school teacher, I am so disappointed to hear how some of you feel about your local teachers. Let me just put this in check for you. I make $34,000 a year, which I have stretched over a 12 month period. However, I run after school studyhalls, homeschool a student, coach basketball, and sometimes teach on Saturdays. My choice, yes, based on the fact that I do love what I do, however, I do not get paid enough in my regular salary to afford much of anything after bills and student loans are paid. Let's not forget that I actually worked part time waitressing to make ends meet. If you are not an educator yourself, than you have no right to comment on the amount of hours we work. How dare you talk down about the people who are with your children more than you are. You wake them up, feed them (if we're lucky), and send them off to us for 8 hours a day. Many of you think teachers work 30 hour weeks? Think again, I'm lucky if I walk through my front door by seven o'clock at night, and the cause of my arriving home late has nothing to do with grading papers. That lovely task of reading final copies of writing assignments, in which parents obviously did not proofread for their child before that child turned it in, I save for my weekends. Many people refer to teachers as glorified babysitters! Let me give you a little math problem. I have 146 students, we'll say the average babysitter makes $5.50 an hour. If every students parents paid me what the paid a babysitter, I'd be making a heck of a lot more than $34,000.00 a year. Yes, we educate your children, but lets not forget the other roles that we are sometimes forced to play. When a child uses the "F" word in my classroom, I'm the one who has to talk with them about why it's not appropriate. When a child uses a cellphone to "check the time" it is I who is reamed out by the parent when they are forced to come in and pick up the child's phone. Times have changed and parents no longer support the teacher. They make excuses for their children to justify bad behavior, or the lack of completing assignments. So, yes, I knew that I would never make much money in my profession, that's not why I chose to do it, and neither is the 3 months (which is technically 2 months)that I have off in the summer. Believe me, teachers need the two months just to recuperate from the exhausting school year. I absolutely love my job, my days are exciting and productive. When people ask me what a make??? I tell them I make a difference! I feel so utterly disappointed that I would here such negative comments come from adults. Yes, Pa teachers are of the highest paid in our country, but your children are receiving the best education. You should feel lucky that your school can afford books, computers, a gymnasium, public transportation for your children. I've worked at schools where parents have to pay over $100.00 for a bus pass so that there child may ride the bus. I'm underpaid, and I'm okay with that, because I believe that how you feel about your job truly affects how you feel about your life, and yes I have bad days, but I never come home and say, "I hate my job!" I don't know what many of you do, and quite frankly, I don't really care, but I would never bash your occupation, unless I myself had the same one. I don't know how hard you work, nor do I sit back and compare our hours. Yes, you pay taxes, so do I, but please don't sit back and say you "pay" me, it's insulting. That's like saying that I pay taxes, so I get to personally bash PennDot employees, because I technically "pay" them. It's just rude. Everyone pays taxes, and yes, we all complain about having to do so, but that's the way the system works, it's never going to change, so please don't demaean me with asinine comments such as those. Oh, and I thought you'd like to know, I'm typing this on the laptop that I purchased for myself, not the one my school gave me for a "job well done!"