Working with Children

So. I have been a teacher for five years. I recently spent my summer at a camp as the Jr. Line Head. I am home now due to grandparent illnesses. However, I have learned that working with kids just is not worth it. I can try and try and try and do everything the best way I can and someone will always question me. Someone will always try and change things to their way because I don't know what I am doing and my experience isn't valid. People who work with children are grossly underpaid, treated like second class citizens, and can do no right. With all the requirements to be a teacher and the continued low end pay scale, I am surprised that there are any teachers at all. Did you know that with a Masters Degree, after taxes, a teachers pay is measured on the poverty scale? How can teachers live unless they have someone else supporting them? All the while, getting paid nothing, with parents not teaching their kids to respect you, while teachers are doing their absolute best to change the world one child at a time, and what do they get? A whole lot of crap.
I am so happy to have left the education field. It is sad, because I love kids. I love working with them, making them smile, holding them while they cry, and teaching them. It is all amazing and rewarding. But if I can't pay my bills, which I am in no debt, just my living expenses, it's too much to ask.
I don't want to get into the realm of politics, but until a former educator is in charge of educational funding, this country is going to lose all its' educators some day. Teachers do picket now. They do it before and after school. They continue to teach during the day. Now that shows class. How a person can stand up for their rights and try to get fair compensation during their own free time, and still do the job because it's not the kids fault.
I am so distraut on this subject at the moment. I decided in January I was going to leave the field. It was the best choice of my life. While I am in graduate school, I plan to sub at my old school. I want to be able to see the kids grow without all the added stress put on teachers to; be on a committee, tutor after school, update a class web page daily, show an interest and go play with the kids at lunch (because really what else can you do with a whole 25 minutes?), test all your kids four times a year, while still giving a quality education to those you are not testing, while making them be quiet, putting a bandaid on a cut finger, updating yourself on emails/ changes to the schedule, all while not having enough time to think, grade papers, use the rest room, or imput grades.
But we get three months off. Oh really? I'd like to find a teacher that doesn't work summer school, makes enough money during the year to make a summer vacation feasible, that isn't waiting for her first paycheck back to pay late bills, that doesn't babysit on the side, among other random side jobs to make ends meet, let alone have time for a social life, a boyfriend, or a family.
I'm going to stop now because I have to get ready to go to lunch. But whatever. I'm over it.