In the recession's unhappy aftermath, teaching jobs look better than ever: The days of lousy pay and good benefits have given way to good pay and great benefits, at least compared with a beaten-down private-sector work force.

As we discuss in the editorial above, we're all for teachers drawing good salaries when those salaries are based on proven performance. When schools pay well, taxpayers make a high-stakes bet that attractive salaries will lure teachers who can educate and inspire our children, drawing the very best out of them.

That's a sensible bet. Making the public schools a desirable place to work goes hand-in-hand with policy reforms aimed at boosting the quality of those schools.

Illinois has ponied up. Its average teaching salary of $58,686 in 2008 reflects a 43.4 percent increase over the last decade. The research firm TeacherPortal.com ranks Illinois No. 1 in its "salary comfort index," which relates teacher pay to a state's cost of living.

Nice work if you can get it.

It's important in the debate over teacher pay to put the entire compensation package in context. How do teachers compare to people in other, similar, lines of work? All in all, they do very well.

Most teachers work 38 weeks in a year, about one-fifth less than the typical 47 weeks in full-time private-sector employment.

Of course that's not the full extent of the job. Many educators conduct grading, lesson-planning and other duties outside regular school hours. Many fulfill continuing education requirements during the summer break, which don't count toward the 38-week average.

Still, the opportunity to enjoy an extended summer vacation is one of teaching's great advantages, compared to managerial and professional jobs held by college graduates in the private sector. Teaching is family friendly, the workday is predictable, compulsory travel is rare and absences are accommodated. Teachers take sick time at triple the rate of private-sector peers, according to a report from the Hoover Institution, a conservative think tank.

Job security is another advantage. The public sector experiences layoffs at roughly one-third of the private rate, according to U.S. Labor Department data. Although cuts loom in school districts across the country, the numbers are modest compared to the layoffs that have occurred in the wider world of for-profit enterprises. And in some cases, more layoffs are required because teachers unions won't accept pay freezes or cuts. Many teachers collect automatic pay raises based on experience and credentials even when the economy tanks.

As for retirement benefits, there's no comparison. Teachers can retire with benefits at an earlier age than their private-sector counterparts, with a pension that's much closer to full pay and often with generous health insurance. Employers contribute 40 percent less to the retirement package at comparable private-sector jobs, according to Labor Department data. Traditional pensions, paying a set amount each month, have pretty much disappeared at private companies. As this page has pointed out, public retirement benefits have created a fiscal time bomb in Illinois that lawmakers irresponsibly allow to keep ticking away. For now, teachers continue accruing benefits that put their private-sector peers to shame.

It's often said no one gets rich as a teacher. Yes, no one gets chief-executive rich, or pro-athlete rich or movie-star rich. But you can do very well as a teacher, compared to the broader work force.

There's nothing wrong with that. And there's nothing wrong with expecting teachers to demonstrate through performance measures year in and year out that they deserve what they make.