Re teachers and salaries and vacations - it is not that we think no-one else works hard, we are just tired of everyone else thinking we don't work hard. Just because the kids are not in school doesn't mean we are not working.
My contract was 37.5 hours/week. I would have loved to work 37.5 hours per week. It was usually double that. Christmas vacation? With exams finishing Dec 22 and marks due in January 2, how much vacation is in there? Easy if all you do is give multiple choice exams, but if you are trying to do a valid evaluation, that is a tiny fraction of the total evaluation. Think the last lab reports, plus term papers, plus exams with essays. Those reflect a student's achievement much more, but they take a lot of time to evaluate.
DD looked at her parents (XDH was a teacher as well) sitting doing extra course prep and marking on evenings and weekends, all through the school year, and swore she would NEVER be a teacher. And she is not a teacher.