Our View: Teachers marked down unfairly

It's very easy for onlookers to scoff at teachers' claims over pay, conditions and class sizes.
And as part of our taxes goes towards teachers' paypackets, it's a sector Joe and Jo Public don't mind showing a bit of interest in when it comes to money matters.
They see teachers, with their perceived short days and long holidays, asking for a 4 per cent pay rise when they and their colleagues have just come through a pay freeze.
The Prime Minister knows he has a point when he says the teachers' demand is too high when most people, including police and nurses, are getting less than 2 per cent.
It's called a bargaining table for a reason and it would have been nice to see both sides prepared to give a little ground before yesterday's strike action.
Teachers are quick to point out it's not just about the money - but that's what many critics are seizing on.
Those critics should stop and look at what they're seizing on - they may have a problem with the pay rise, but what's 3 or 4 per cent on top of a comparatively low base salary?
Let's compare apples with apples.
A recent international report shows New Zealand teachers are some of the lowest paid in the OECD, despite working more hours than most of their overseas counterparts.
The Education at a Glance report, which compares the education systems of the 29 countries in the OECD, found that after 15 years' experience, a New Zealand teacher makes $10,000 a year less than the average teacher.
They also start on an average of $10,000 less than Australian counterparts and earned up to $82,000 less than those in top-paying Luxembourg.
According to the report, in most countries teachers' pay rose according to the level taught, with some higher level secondary teachers earning up to 25 per cent more than a primary school teacher with the same experience.
But this is one of only a few countries where the difference between those two groups' salaries is less than 5 per cent.
Another finding in the report was that New Zealand teachers put in far more hours each year than their counterparts in most other countries. Only Mexico and United States teachers work more hours.
The other claims shouldn't be ignored either. Smaller class sizes would benefit both teachers and students.
And let's remind ourselves what's important here for many of us.
Our kids.
They deserve a good education, which means they deserve good teachers.
You want quality - at some point you have to start paying for it.