Two great quotes from guest blogger Sean Corcoran, an economist who teaches at the Steinhardt School of Education at NYU, on Eduwonkette today:

“I don’t see why a good teacher should be paid less money than a bad senator… It is unconscionable that the average salary of a lawyer is $79,000 a year and the average salary of a teacher is $39,000 a year.”
– John McCain, Republican debate at Dartmouth College, October 29, 1999

“We are going to have to take the teaching profession seriously. This means paying teachers what they are worth. There is no reason why an experienced, highly qualified teacher shouldn’t earn $100,000.”
– Barack Obama, from The Audacity of Hope

More about Washington State’s teaching penalty to come…stay tuned.