I don't know where you live but in our wealthy county in California, the median teacher's salary is only $56,000. That is NOT a lot of money, especially if you live in an expensive area. A lot of California has very expensive housing. They keep giving pink-slips to teachers in California (and, I'm sure, nationally). I would never want my kids to become teachers- not because it isn't a great field but because it pays poorly and you have a real danger of losing your job from year to year.