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?

Thank you for your post, FirstVix, spot on.

I KNOW 100' S OF SCHOOL PARENTS - SCHOOL IS NOT SEEN AS CHILDCARE BY ANY. THAT IS SUCH AN UTTERLY SHIT POINT TO MAKE IN THE TEACHERS PLEA

On the childcare front, I'm a part time teacher. I get paid for 3 days a week. Because of the timetable (I'm secondary), I have to actually teach all 5 days. So even though I'm only paid for 3 days work, my kids are in childcare 5 days. I also have to pay for childcare in the holidays so that I can get school work done.

I KNOW 100' S OF SCHOOL PARENTS - SCHOOL IS NOT SEEN AS CHILDCARE BY ANY. THAT IS SUCH AN UTTERLY SHIT POINT TO MAKE IN THE TEACHERS PLEA

Teachers only work 170 days a year. And still they complain.

Whoa...working to rule the last year?!

My dd's teacher last year, who is in the NUT, who had a great reputation with the parents at school was a mess last year. The year was a complete write off. The children made very little progress; the classroom management was dire. I felt sorry for her, I assumed she was having a tough year personally. Nice.

I don't see school as child care. I value teachers' professionalism.
I feel badly let down, and my sympathy is ebbing away.

I suppose you could hold the government responsible too because despite knowing that children's education will suffer and parents will be inconvenienced, they have chosen to let the teachers strike rather than negotiate with them over pay and conditions. Yet no-one blames the government do they? And if people think the teachers don't care about their students, how much do they think the government cares?

TheRunaway yes, I do. That's the problem. Gove and the government are just ploughing ahead and don't give a fuck about anyone, not about strikes. I think it's better to make a stand than not but I can't see Gove listening If I thought there was a slim chance, I'd say it's important to use the rights and make an actual difference and tell people how wrong this all is, but I worry that striking is really dividing the population- instead of a lot of people vs Gove/government, it's now having a lot of public support turned away from teachers as a result of striking. People need to be on the side of teachers if there's a chance of actually making a difference, but I think there's not enough wider public knowledge about what's actually happening to the teaching profession (and to the public sector as a whole!) to make a strike effective. I think this is a currently quite bad time to strike as parents who undoubtedly are feeling the pressure in their jobs as a result of the economy and so on, are now going to feel resentful of teachers and there's not much to change this opinion.
, so I think striking will mean there is more opposition against teachers ifyswim (I know, I'm not making sense).

What I'm trying to say is: I think striking is right, and it would be great if teachers did and other public sector workers did. But I think at this time and without enough wider understanding for people not working in teaching/with family or friends or other knowledge of what's happening, that strikes will make it worse.

Teachers are only paid for 170 days that is why they only officially work for 170 days.

To each teacher that is going to strike on Tuesday 1 October - good for you, stand up for your rights and i support you whole heartedly. You have every right to call a strike.

Previous strikes achieved PPA time and workload agreements. In turn this enabled headteachers to employ more support staff to free up teachers to spend more time teaching rather than photocopying or counting money,

195, LaGuardia. And that only covers teaching days and INSET.

Blissx, yours is an interesting point about Gove's manipulation of standards. He has aspirations to lead his party, so that would fit.

195

Newnamefornewterm - no teachers get 28 days holiday pay, so you get paid for 194 days take a look in your own handbook.www.lge.gov.uk/lge/aio/707500

Who is actually working to rule? I am in the ATL, so I'm not involved in this industrial action, but there has been no discernible difference in how teachers in my school operate. And we're not generally a lazy bunch.

Ditto to what Ivykaty said.

Its about time action was taken. To those teacher bashing, are you really so selfish as to just be bothered about who will look after your children that day, when they are trying so hard to improve the outcomes for your kids.

I don't care whether the public or parents support us tbh. I am doing this to hit Gove, and not sure what else there is to do, short of using a bomb

I completely support the teacher's strike. Teaching is one of the most important jobs there is - educating our children, is their really much more that's important. I know my job is nowhere near as important.

I want the absolute best people to be teaching my child. Not an exhausted, probably out-of-touch 69-year-old who will have been counting down the days for years. If we are to be get the best graduates into teaching, and to stay in teaching, they need a good package, otherwise they're just going to head into the private sector and become bankers and lawyers. And I'm happy for them to get that package.

I'd rather them than Bob Crow's lot, forever throwing their toys out of the pram.

Fallenmadonna, it's NAS and NUT joint action. Mainly based around the 24 tasks (or however many it is, I can never remember), so no handling money, no bulk photocopying, typing minutes etc. Also refusing to do extra curricular activities unless you freely choose to, refusing excessive observations and so on.

I don't get the whole "public sympathy" "parental support" thing. I will continue to do my job to the best of my ability and for the good of my students whether or not parents are on "my side".

I don't do my job to get "public support". Public support does not influence my pay or conditions.

RevealAll, I didn't quote long hours to moan. I said I love my job. I described my long working days in response to the scepticism about an earlier poster working 10 hour days regularly. No, funnily enough I'm not teaching for the entire 10 hours of every day...how on earth could anyone do that AND plan for those teaching hours AND mark the work AND see parents etc etc? But apparently I am just a bad manager or time or I choose to work those long days? That'll be myself and every single other teacher I know then!

It's very difficult because I totally understand people objecting to the strike, loads of my friends and family are having a very tough time at the moment jobwise, but people basically suggesting that teachers have it easy is bloody ridiculous.

Missinginlalaland, I think it is much more likely that your DD's teacher was having a tough time personally. We are certainly not working to rule at our school.

Oh dear. So if I retire at 67 I will have a couple of weeks till I pop off?!

How depressing.

seabright 70 hours is a normal working week. Honestly, it is.