Wendy, I understand why you feel that teacher's strikes are a major reason why my profession is constantly being disrespected. However, I am in a state that has never allowed teacher's strikes(they also just abolished tenure)and I hear the exact same rhetoric constantly being applied toward the educational field out here. So the issue of strikes is not the cause(though it may upset you when your child is attending school in June).

I do agree that there are a few poor teachers, just like there are a few bad doctors and a few bad fast food workers. However, the reason they are still in the profession is not because of the union, it is because school principals lack the backbone to dismiss them because of the amount of evidence that they must provide. Putting together this evidence to dismiss takes a great deal of time and effort, obviously too much for many principals.

Also, just the fact that you(like many people who constantly rag on educators)had to mention the 7 hour days and 180 days a year issue proves that it must bother you. Actually it's more like 8-10 hours a day and 200 days a year.

Education is a three-legged stool......it takes me, you, and your child all working cooperatively to get the best result. I'll repeat what I said before, if you support your child's teachers 100% and expect only the best from your child every day, you'll be amazed at the progress they make.

Forget unions, how many hours we work,how many days we work, the "I pay your salary with my taxes" argument, and the lazy overpaid teachers rhetoric. You can't control those. But you can control how you and your child make each and every day they attend school one more step in furthering their education in order to give them a bright future.