Mods - apologies if there is already a thread on this. Please feel free to close and make me aware of the other one if so.
I think people know my views on striking in general from the Bob Crow thread, but this one will surely potentially cause all kinds of divides regardless of political views, etc etc.
Frankly, I think that walking out when you are a teacher (never mind over pay related issues) is a flipping disgrace. A few points I would like to make.
1) I, along with many on this board, face being fined if we take our kids out of school a day before school holidays start, to save money. But they can take a days education away from our kids in order to get themselves more money. Can I be rest assured that they will all be fined for this strike day?
2) Workloads is one of the aspects they are unhappy with. Yes, that's right, the profession that gets 13 weeks or so holiday a year. I don't care if they take their work home with them. They bloody should do, they finish at 4pm! I take my work home (if I am not in the office at 11pm) and only get 30 days holiday (which I still appreciate is pretty darn good). So what makes them so special?
Never mind going on strike over pay, when 90% of the parents of the kids at the school would like to be paid more.
Utterly disgraceful.
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Comments
One Tucks Features the other...
(seen on twitter)
Nah, this is gonna be CL carnage!
I think they just need to get on with it. There are better ways to get your point accross than striking.
Thankfully this won't affect me as I am fortunate enough to be able to send my kids to private school, but I really sympathise with parents who will have to arrange childcare (at their own expense) and a day of education lost for their children.
If you think it's so cushy, why don't you have a go yourself?
Also, I find all the stereotypes about teachers lauding it up with their 3 month holidays and 4 hour jobs very boring.
Having said that, some of the red tape/paperwork that goes with the profession is becoming a joke. Most of the teachers at my school are in at 7am and leave between 6-7pm. The evening is spent planning, marking and assessing and the 'good/outstanding' teachers are spending 4 hours plus each evening at home completing extra work. Also, teachers (if they are decent teachers) will usually spend a high proportion of their weekend working as well. I completely take your point about the holidays and I would welcome a reduced number of days each year (25 days) if I could have some of my evening and weekends to spend with my family. The job is not like it was in the 1970s/80s with teachers in at 8.30am and leaving at 3.30pm...that is just a myth in 2014. I am totally against strike action and I would like to say I am not a fan of the unions. On the flip side I am not a fan of Michael Gove either!!!!
And yes I know many teachers. My sister in law, my wifes 3 best friends (who all admit that they took up teaching because it gives them more time back to look after their own kids).
And please don't think it doesn't apply to you. When unions are strong, it forces other employers to match wages. So, they actually increase the pay and improve benefits for non-union workers too. They help everyone.....blue collar, white collar, union and non-union.
Not disputing it doesn't happen though
Comparing your own situation/profession with another is daft. Its your own fault that you are working till 11pm every night unpaid, either at the home or office. It was your career choice, no need to be jealous because other people get it better than you
I think a lot of people attribute far too much to unions. Unions screw us over in order to get more money, and people raise their hands and cheer, big business do it and they go mental!
on sat his vile behaviour included the following lines
" I don't call home to parents to tell their shitty kid to buck his ideas up"
" I don't care how many kids ruin their opportunity to learn in my class, if you don't listen then you can sit there and face the wall"
" If I cant put manors on the useless waste of space no one can"
" I wont help any child that cant read by yr 8"
" you can bet the parent is a chav mug"
" I am not the sort of teacher that I want people to remember as someone who made a difference , I am the sort of teacher who I want people to say he was a complete bstd"
now I have listened to this head of year for 2 months and sat was the nail in the coffin, I looked up from my paper and said to him
"you were bullied in school for having a small dick wasn't you, what school are you head of year in , as I think its about time your parents and your governors, really knew what your thoughts are , your problem mate is due to your bullied past you have for years wondered how to get back at those that done it to you, yet your just a coward so now you enjoy , bullying this nice bloke next to you every Saturday with your seemingly intelligent one liners, and bullying kids that may be in need of help and a person to trust,
you got your degree and saw all these other intelligent people not getting the jobs they wanted so you went into teaching where your inadequacies could be hidden and you could seek your revenge in other words your a bully mug who needs to belittle everyone you can"
he was rather taken a back and the fact the bloke he ridicules every sat was wetting himself with laughter he just sat there staring at me
next sat should be fun
teachers like him are very common, and are in most if not every school, according to my pal who is a teacher , its people like him and strike action that is a very reg occurrence that tarnish the teachers and remove the support for action like this , that and the threat to fine for outside school holidays absence
Still dont think they should strike though, would somebody please think of the children.
No thanks. I am too busy sitting in my office till god knows what time at night to have time to think of something else to do. I would maybe look into it more during my holiday entitlement, but I dont have enough days to spare.
And yes I know many teachers. My sister in law, my wifes 3 best friends (who all admit that they took up teaching because it gives them more time back to look after their own kids).
Maybe you should start a union if you don't have enough holiday. Most people in this country do, thanks to the unions.
I certainly know primary school teachers for whom the work never seems to end, evenings, weekends. Admittedly, it's older ones whose kids are older now, but they're still underpaid and overworked in an extremely difficult job that is far more important than the jobs that most of us do. A job made ever more difficult by the modern parent and not helped by the attitude you put forward.
I will say that my brother used to say much the same as you to his teacher wife. It was probably true a couple of decades ago. He doesn't say it now. He can't get her stop working, despite a chronic injury caused by a lifetime of looking after other people's little ones.
As one poster said, I am not calling it cushy. And it is a job that gives a lot back to the community when done well (I am massively appreciative of my 5 year old sons teacher, as she does an excellent job imo shaping his early life). And I am not against anyone questioning their pay - for instance some reports I hear of what nurses are paid is disgracefully low. But for me, I can only measure it against what I do:
1) I don't have a 'worthy' job that gives lots back to the country. I am a director of an advertising agency (the advertising thread is there to slate me for that, and I have taken a fair bit of cop so head over their for that job!). I am well aware that I am not saving lives, but I work hard at what I do to support my family and give my kids the best life possible. Work for me is a means to give them the best life possible
2) A normal days work is in the office at c7:30, and a good day would be leaving at 7pm (that's not including a 1 hour commute each way).
3) I actually get very good annual leave at 32 days per year (25 is standard, but I have more due to my level and years of service). But nothing like the level teachers get. And I am massively appreciative of what I do get and realise it is a blessing.
4) Took 1 day off yesterday to spend a belated birthday with my family. Dialled in to 2 conference calls, and spent the last 2 hours of the day answering e-mails. Repeat as desired for any holiday day which is not at least a 1 week break out the country (normally paid for at obscene rates due to not being able to take kids out of school due to risk of fine).
5) In my office, we currently have a high proportion of staff off with stress related illnesses. Ridiculous when you consider what it is we do, but that shows the pressure people are under. Crikey, look at the traders and stock brokers you hear throwing themselves off the top of buildings. Tragic, unnecessary, and a sign of what a high stress environment can do. Is the level of stress in teaching at that level.
So I wanted to respond to anyone who thinks I think teaching is a 'cushy' job. Well it would be a cushy job if you were paid £100k a year to do it, but you are not. As someone said, the pay and conditions is made perfectly clear to those who choose to go in to it.
I was aware of the hours and conditions of my job and career, but I was also aware that I could be paid well and support my family well if I worked hard to succeed. Hence why I will be sitting here late every night.
Those who can't, teach.