I guess I should have explained teacher salaries a little better. Teachers are paid on a 187 day contract in my state. Those are the number of classroom days (campus/contact with students). Then we are required to have x number hours of extra training every year on our time, workshops that hone skills (usually on our time), writing district curriculum (or special program curriculum) OUR time...these all are summertime things. My 187 day pay? Well, it was spread out over a year so that I would be paid every month (school districts realized they actually made more money by keeping as much in the bank as long as they could and acrue interest). To most people it looks like I get paid for doing "nothing" in the summer.
Retirement packages depend on where you live. Not every state treats teachers equally so where you live may be critical to your decisions.