Yes, teachers should be paid much higher salaries for what they do. Teachers probably shouldn't be paid so much that people join that career just for the money but the current wage for teachers is depressingly low.

A teacher is one of the most important professions, especially in a democracy like system, and a teacher shouldn't be required to work two jobs, or have their spouse work a job just so they can afford to live an adequate life.

Top bankers get paid a lot of money. Millions a year. I don't think that's responsible, irrespective of the profession. As someone in his education-vocation infancy, I think teachers should get paid more. But there's really no meaningful way to measure "good teachers".

Yes, they should make top dollar but I'm at a loss as to what yardstick they will use to measure the best! And what do you do with those who aren't the best? Do they just fall by the wayside or are they gotten rid of entirely? I think the entire pay structure should be changed to reflect the assets that teachers instill in our children. They are worth every dime we can pay them for what they do generation after generation.

Teaching is a very hard business. It is a profession that is not appreciated these days. I feel that teachers deserve every opportunity for success.

Yes they should. Good teachers make a difference in people's lives. They mold young people into who they will become. So I agree that they should make a salary that is comparable to top bankers

Top bankers make money (in a given year) by helping a bunch of other people make money. A teacher only helps about 20 to 30 kids. When a top banker helps someone make money, it is a considerable sum. When a teacher helps one kid learn a math concept, the gains are hard to measure in monetary terms.

But I do believe that teachers should be paid by how good they are.... although this system would entice some teachers to try and cheat the system in order to make more money.

I disagree. I believe teachers should be paid more than the peanuts they are getting now, but I don't think they should earn as much a top bankers do. First, how do you determine who the best teachers are? By test grades? Failure rates? There are just too many variables involved in coming up with who the best teachers are. You could be a great teacher, but if your students don't take part in their responsibilities and end up failing the class, you look like a horrible teacher. Second, most banks are privatized these days, while teachers are paid by the government. Where is the money going to come from to pay the best teachers millions of dollars? You can't tax the rich for everything. If I was a great policeman and saw great teachers getting paid millions, I would petition the government to do the same thing for me. Then a great fireman sees what the policeman does yada yada. It would create an unnecessary ripple effect, leaving some people happy and a lot of people pissed. Again, they should get paid more, but not as much as top bankers.

Scarcity pricing is the only just and sustainable way to price things, including labor.

"Those that can't do, teach." To reward one idiot over another idiot is wrong. Reward those that are actually doing the work.

Sadly, there is a lot truth in the saying "those who can, do; those who can't, teach; '

While it is true that the teachers teach, it is also true that the students study and work themselves to the career as bankers or any other high paying jobs by dint of their hard work and application. And some students also make it to the top in spite of bad teachers. and some students become criminals in spite of the best teachers .

Nobody stopped the teacher from going in for top bankers' jobs, and certainly they knew as well as anybody else that teaching is a lowly paid job.

There is also another saying "don't brag. it is not the whistle that is pulling the train "

Our economy would not survive if we did this. We cannot afford to pay people who do not generate profit as much money as someone who is paid more according to how much profit they bring in. Capitalism doesn't work that way. It would be great if we could, but we cant and therefore we shouldn't.