to ask WHY in the name of Gove are teachers striking again?

[loftyclopflop]

DD's school is closing on 1st October because they have chosen to strike. Is it over pay, pensions and conditions? Did they achieve anything by striking a couple of years ago other than massively inconveniencing a lot of parents?

I know Gove is a twat but do they really expect to change anything by taking the day off?

[superstarheartbreaker]

I trained as a teacher and I am quitting. It's not 9am til 3.30 , it's 8.00am till 11.00pm. 6 days a week normally too. Holidays are spent marking etc. I LONG for 9-5.

[superstarheartbreaker]

Well most teachers need a degree and a pgce which renders them highly skilled in their specialist field. You don't get accepted on the pgce unless you have decent gcses. My friend couldn't get on the pgce as her gcse grades weren't good enough even though she got a 1st for her degree.

[superstarheartbreaker]

IMO the reason why students are so appallingly behaved is because parents and students regard themselves as customers. Parents believe their offspring are beyond reproach and blame teachers if their kids misbehave. All authority has been taken away from teachers which is why I am leaving for good.

[DakotaFanny]

Ten years ago your children would have been taught by teachers who were free to teach their subject in the way they thought best. This usually meant they were passionate, enthusiastic and empowered and inspired children to enjoy education and learning. They were paid well, rewarded with yearly increases and putting into good pension schemes. They were accountable to exam results, but were judged equally on creating positive working atmospheres and providing pupils with safe, positive and inspiring environments in which to learn: Indeed, a typical Ofsted feedback form might include the words "your students like and respect you and this makes them want to learn".

Today, they are too frequently taught by teachers who have little or no say in what they teach, let alone how they teach it. Lesson plans are prescriptive, more concerned with outcomes and objectives than flexibility or enjoyment. Pupils are no longer valued for their individuality or unique interest; they are mini robots, expected to reel out their target grades and what steps they must take to reach the next sub-level. They are numbers on paper, future league table fodder. Ofsted don't give a shit about whether anyone is enjoying being in school, they care about whether there is a folder full of data about your child, whether they are held back by their free school meal status, or the fact that they are an ethnic minority boy. They don't care about your kid. Just the numbers they have come to represent.

Teachers are still pretty well paid, in my opinion, but in effect they have taken a pay drop of several % in the last few years. I can't lay my hands on the figures, but we're talking hundreds of pounds. Teachers were one of the first to be hit by pay freezes and, when the UK finally crawls out of this financial hole, they will be one of the last to benefit. On top of that, pensions have dropped, teachers have to pay more into them and they must work until they're 68 before they can access them. "Gold plated" is an utter myth, propaganda spread by the country's teacher bashers.

Mind you, in a lot of schools, they don't need to be qualified anymore....apparently anyone can teach your kids.

So yeah; when your kids are being taught by an unqualified, 68 year old robot, who never shows any interest in them as individuals, who loses their temper with your hormonal, stressed out teenager because that one piece of coursework was below target and therefore threatens their performance related pay...well then we'll chat again about why teachers striking is a nonsense.

[superstarheartbreaker]

Here here Dakota.

[purplebaubles]

Why teachers are striking

[storynanny]

Dakota, you are so right.
One particular piece of nonsense which led to my early retirement from full time class teaching was when I was a reception teacher. I was expected to quiz a 4 year old child "playing" alongside friends in the sand, using measuring containers, about "what could you do to get better at this task"

[storynanny]

Because Ofsted says children should know what their next step is.

[storynanny]

Even if they are only 4.

[Neverhere]

I can see how the idea of PRP seems good and tbh if done properly it could work, however, one of the reasons NUT are striking is that Gove will not ensure schools set aside budgets to pay all teachers their increase if all teachers achieve their targets.

So atm even if all teachers reach their targets (even when jimmy made 4 points progress dispute not having food, gas or electric at home) there isn't the money in their budgets to give the promised pay rise!

[NurseyWursey]

Because Ofsted says children should know what their next step is.

I really do think sometimes they take cognitive development theory too literally.

[DakotaFanny]

It's very sad. Although I really rate my children's school and their teachers, I find their green self assessments after every lesson, and their reference to whether they have fulfiled the learning objective very very sad. They are babies, for God's sake. Let them just love learning.

[storynanny]

Yes, as an experienced professional working with very young children, it was a complete waste of time for all concerned, for me to be walking round with a clipboard and post it notes gathering "evidence" that they knew how to get to their next target.

[Gooseysgirl]

Well said Dakota.
I'm a teacher but working in a consultative role for a local authority - wild horses couldn't drag me back in to a class teaching role now the way things have gone. I visit loads of primary schools and see teachers who ate exhausted and totally demoralised. It worries me for me little DD who will start school Sept 2016

[HairyPorter]

Yabu!! Fully in support of the teachers. This government is destroying to nhs and education system so they can privatise everything and help the rich get richer. It's a load of bollocks. If you don't pour the money into education then you'll get shit teachers. All this bs about cutting public spending and austerity etc is going to cause the system to fall apart. I work in the nhs. I have seen the quality of care we provide decline in the last decade. I imagine the same is happening in education. You can't cut costs with health and education and still expect good quality!

[Norfolknway]

YABU
I fully support the teachers.

Education is not a toy to be played with.

[clairemum22]

Does anybody reading this thread support Michael Gove? I haven't heard anybody with a good word to say about him. How on earth is he still in a job? I feel sorry for teachers.