Teachers are underpaid? Not quite, say Jay P. Greene and Marcus A. Winters:

"According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, public school teachers earned $34.06 per hour in 2005, 36% more than the hourly wage of the average white-collar worker and 11% more than the average professional specialty or technical worker."

In addition, teachers enjoy many other benefits: job security that is almost unheard of these days, generous pension plans, and generous health insurance plans. Left unmentioned is that efforts to reduce classroom size, if actually implemented, decrease the workload of a teacher. That measure amounts to yet another pay raise.

Should some teachers get paid more? Absolutely. Should some not be teaching?  Absolutely. Under a seniority system, however, good and poor teachers are treated the same.