A Lesson To Be Learned

How many times have you heard that teachers aren't paid enough? It seems these days that it's a known fact, so much so that it's bandied about without any supporting evidence--sort of like an accepted truth like the earth's roundness or the certainty of taxes.
Now, I'm not here to get into a debate about how much teachers should be paid. But I would ask people to keep in mind that there are other professionals who get the same or even less pay than teachers, but they are never given the same attention. For instance, when was the last time you heard politicians railing for the need to increase the pay of social workers?
Not to mention that in a 2007 report done by the endowed chair for educational reform at the University of Arkansas found that the average public school teacher makes $34.06 an hour.
See the article in The February 2, 2007 edition of The Wall Street Journal: http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009612
The article makes the point that it's only fair to compare teachers' salaries on an hourly basis because they work significantly fewer hours than other professionals (and nearly all professionals, like teachers, bring work home with them, so it's not fair to argue teacher work secret untold hours on that basis). Of course a teacher's salary looks paltry next a white collar worker's until you realize that teacher gets upwards of three months in holiday and summer breaks, the authors argue.
Except, it doesn't look paltry compared to the salaries of journalists I know. First year teachers make more than journalists with three to five years' experience, and not just on a $/hour basis. They make more money flat out for 9 months of work than these journalists do for 12. I know this from painful first hand experience. I'm not saying they're not doing an important job, but what are we, chopped liver? And let's be honest--something's not going well since the U.S. is slipping behind nearly all other developed countries when it comes to their students' grasp of core subjects like science and history.
Yes, educating children is important for our future, but isn't free speech and a free press important for the future and the present? I've heard enough about teachers' salaries being too low. There are plenty of other professions, including journalism, that deserve a boost before they do.