to ask if you agree with the teacher's strike upcoming

[AuntiePickleBottom]

i am on the fence about it, due to not understanding pensions.

Me too. I want employers to consider her as equally as they would a non disabled candidate. Thereneeds to be positive action on this. I cant bear the thought of her bright mind trapped in unemployment staring at 4 walls until she dies.

I want them to be compelled to do this. For the older than average, for the disabled, for everyone.

THAT is what I will fight for, big f*cking style.

Expat again I have not and will not have one career for life. I have done a number of things and will continue to work after I retire from teaching.

My concern is that teaching needs to be an attractive option for the best graduates. Holidays is one of the things that makes it attractive, I would be stupid to say otherwise. The pay is not attractive for the best graduates because they could earn much more doing something else. The job satisfaction is attractive - although that alone may not draw someone in because you don't really understand how fantastic the job is until you do it. The pension is very good at keeping the best teachers in teaching. I accept that the pensions cannot stay as they are, I do object to the number and scale of the changes and the demonisation of the public sector.

I agree with the need for retraining for older people. My concern is not that I will be able to work past 65, but what will happen if I cannot carry on teaching. It might be fine - some people are. It might not. It depends on the type of school, and your own health. At the moment, it seems that most jobs want so many specific qualifications, that only those with a wealthy spouse can afford to go back to university for a postgrad course, or even a second degree. The reality is that many reasonably intelligent, hard working people could do most jobs, given half a chance and some training. 45 years is a long time to do one job. Fresh ideas and people would benefit many occupations.

Dhs mother left teaching at 65 (no choice) and is now working in a museum leading tours and stuff.

And drawing her large teacgers pension.

Nearly everyoneof my age (early 40s) has had a change of career.very normal nowadays

Twinkly, that doesn't bear out. There are more and more PGCE grads who can't get a FT job.

And I want it to be a real option, for goingnowhere and I to work, to do real work, past 65.

There's a single mum on here who wanted to go into a trade who was turned down for a course because she was 28 and the apprenticeship cutoff was 25. W.T.F?

IMO, that's a major part of what's wrong, not that people can't retire when they're in their 50s or early 60s. That's just not sustainable.

The problem is that there's no compulsive value to persons who are older than average, disabled, been out of work a long time or maybe forever, etc.

If people have to work longer, and they will because they are living longer, this must be made possible, by law because it's the only way to enforce change. And there needs to be job creation. And enforced flexibility, to work, not to retire.

So I don't support the strikes because I don't think retiring is the solution anymore. The goalposts have changed.

So instead I'm fighting for the right for us to work within changing goalposts.

I have read some of this, not all. I posted several pages back. I support any union member's right to strike. What I cannot support is the fact that this strike was called before the TPS proposals were announced and the Head of NUT has just received a 10% pay rise when her members may not have had a cost of living increase for up to two years. I also cannot support the attitude at my dd's secondary school which announced the school would be shut next Thursday and that the leavers' Eucharist and breakfast was cancelled because so many staff were striking. There was no apology for the inconvenience, no regret at the decision. The letter said between the lines we don't care about you or your daughters and was very discourteous. Not an example of professional behaviour.

Just because there are lots of people applying for PGCEs it does not mean we are getting the best people.

It also does not mean those trainees will stay in teaching.

'Just because there are lots of people applying for PGCEs it does not mean we are getting the best people.'

Oh, okay. Because I knew a lot of them when I was working for an RG uni. They were all morons.

Research from 2009 showed 4 out of 10 drop out from PGCE and half NQTs dropping out within 6 months.
Perhaps that's what will happen, teaching will become a short-term option for up to 5 years, then people will move on.

Today (Fri 24th) DD came home with the letter that the teachers at our school may/may not be striking depending on a meeting on Monday.
Other schools sent out letter last Tuesday.

So we get less than 3 days warning -though we have prepared for the strike going ahead.

But who are the best people to be teaching? iIt's more who has the right temperament and communication abilities and can engage and motivate the kids rather than the biggest brains. I know plenty of hugely intelligent people with very good degrees who would make appalling teachers. I'd rather people were motivated by the love of teaching than the salary, pension and holidays.

I'm still baffled as to why teachers are still claiming they are badly paid when the evidence linked to is that it is on a par with other professions such as engineering, it and accountancy? And that's before you take account of the holidays and pension.

I don't understand your point.

It is quite pointless having lots of peope all wanting to be teachers if the quality is not there. I wan the brightest and most skilled teachers to go into teaching.

I would like to see teacher training courses fail people much more readily, I would like to see failing teachers dealt with swiftly. Teaching a subject you love is a privilege and one that should be earned. You need to offer pay and conditions to draw in the best people.

I want people who love their subject, have excellent degrees and can inspire and communicate. I don't really care if in addition they are motivated by their pay and pension.

I fully accept that teachers salaries need to reflect our holidays. I am paid less than everyone else I graduated with bar one friend who is a librarian.

Why? Education is important, but I would prefer the brightest and most skilled people to be curing illnesses and making sure banks are run properly and don't get us into such an almighty mess again, or running the country in a way that makes things better for all.

Clearly that is everyone I graduated with that I have stayed in touch with, maybe I am drawn to riich people.

That didn't come out the way I meant, I meant instead of the arrogant old boys network where you get top jobs based on which school you went to, the brightest and most skilled people should be doing them.

Beacause our young people are with teachers day in and day out, they need inspiring and motivating. Our challenging students need teachers with a high level of emotional intelligence, our most able students who need teachers who can allow them to fly. Our children need to have teachers who are ambitious and driven, driven yet creative. Our young people deserve better than to spend day in day out in the company of mediocre people who fell into teaching because they could think of nothing else to do.

I agree with the right to strike. I'm not so sure if I agree with this particular strike, but wouldn't take away someone's right to withdraw labour.

I want good teachers teaching my children, and the children of the country, I don't want poorly paid, badly treated, terribly trained teachers being in charge of the future of the fucking country! Pay them what they deserve to be paid. HOWEVER: People are going to be working longer, until they are older. Expat is right. Retirement is not meant to be for 20 or 30 years. It's supposed to be for about 10 years. And teachers need to realise this. Yes, teaching is hard, exhausting. But so are lots of other jobs, and more so. There's a lot of talk about whether we would want a 60 year old teaching. Well, that's a mindset that we need to get out of! What a discrimination, to suggest that an older person cannot teach!

I don't know if our school is striking yet. If they are, we will deal with it.

You sound like you are a fab teacher twinkly, it would be great if all teachers were as passionate as you are about teaching.

I agree Pfft, I can think of teachers who are approaching 60 who could have a good few years left in them in the classroom, they are quite small in number though.

I love my job, I think you would struggle to find a teacher who is happier in her work. I do think I was born to teach.

Would I make the same choices with regard to my career - I am not sure. Would I suggest teaching to my own children - again I am not sure.