I don't feel bad for teachers. They chose to do what they do and they can always choose to do something else. The problem is that the schools lose the good teachers from the talent pool and are left with poor quality educators. It wouldn't take THAT much more money to convince talented individuals to become (and remain) teachers, and I think it would have a big impact on the quality of education.

There are plenty of perks to being a teacher, but I don't think there are enough to lure talented people into the profession.