Teachers are NOT paid for summers off--

Putting this myth to rest for my readers. Teachers are paid by the day. If you work 180 days, you get paid 180 days. The summer is forced unpaid leave. The same goes for spring break, Christmas break, and so on. A teacher is only paid for the actual number of days she teaches. Yes, some are paid monthly throughout the year, but they are simply getting paid in August for work they did the spring before. It is divided up into 12 payments for the 9 months work.   When you understand that the average teacher works as many hours PER YEAR as any other salaried worker, you need to understand that it is because teachers work an average of 2-4 hours AFTER their work day, every day and an average of 6 hours on the weekend (but many work more). They then have training and preparation in the summer on their own time. It is has become disheartening, over 36 years in this career, that I read so very many things that are demeaning to teachers. It used to be a respected profession.