To be really worried about proposed teacher strikes.

[katedan]

In England not Scotland for context. My twin daughters are year 11 and I am terrified about the impact of teacher strikes on their GCSEs. They have not yet covered the curriculum and every day counts to get them exam ready so strike days will be disastrous for year 11 and 13 pupils ( and lots of other children especially those who are vulnerable) these kids have had their education impacted by covid and now strikes. This will make the divide between state and private schools even bigger. Do you think they will go ahead or if a safety net will be put around exam years if it does.

Schools need reform too. Need to make a lot of these non-contact roles redundant and pay the teachers in the classroom more. So many feckers in teaching want to get promoted to be paid more and have less teaching on their timetable. Slim line these roles and pay the teachers with the big classroom timetable more. This will help with limited funds.

Then the government, will moan, when these kids, don't get good grades

The government have already decided what grades these kids will get. Moaning about them getting the grades that the govt themselves decided would be odd.

It is perfectly OK to debate something on a thread with controversial and opposing views where it can get heated at times. It's never OK to make nasty personal comments, insults, or use nasty patronising language towards someone, whatever you do or don't disagree with in the heated debate. It's even worse to carry on taking it up a notch, make fun of, and goad that poster further with personal insults when they have clearly said its not OK. Then to accuse them of being too sensitive for feeling a certain way over the insults, nasty language made towards them personally and patronising language and revelling in other posters' name-calling, too. This bullying behaviour is not acceptable.
The irony is that our kids are taught about this type of behaviour in schools from an early age to not bully online. Debate a topic until everyone is blue in the face, but if someone's views are making you feel that wound up/annoyed to the point you feel its acceptable to start getting personal with personal insults it's time to step away from the topic and cool off, like I had to after your nasty personal comments towards me.
I'm not opposed to holding my hands up to say sorry, I got that bit wrong, like I did last night to the poster on the other side of the debate asking me questions. But even after I held my hands up and said I got that particular bit wrong, which is not what a "troll" would do (and none of my posts on the thread were removed because i can debate without insulting posters personally), you still carried on goading.
But thankfully, your posts, along with the other two posters, containing personal insults and nasty language towards myself, have been removed from the thread.

It's the same argument I'd use with people against nurses striking because people need nurses. That's the point they're making. Education and healthcare are chronically underfunded, teachers, nurses, care workers don't get paid enough so there are staff shortages. They don't want to strike but they feel it's the only way of getting these issues addressed by politicians.

Marking isn't going back to pre-pandemic. That's not how it works. The number of grades awarded at each level is going back. The grade boundaries shift every year based on the performance of the cohort.

As a parent of a child taking GCSEs, I would be much more concerned if the teachers weren’t striking as this shows that they have ‘given up’ on themselves, our children and future pupils.
The lack of funding, lack of work - life balance, pay; leading to a recruitment and retention crisis, lack of support for Sen / teaching assistants , alongside a shit show of a curriculum enforced upon them from the govt ( when teachers know that much of it is not what pupils needs) means yes, they want to secure better working conditions for themselves but I know from speaking to teachers, they care deeply about the children and this is for them and future pupils too, to receive the quality of teaching, resources and curriculum that they are entitled to.
Teachers have my full support! …I will be feeling my children, their future is not going be damaged ( as it won’t!) but they will learn that standing up for what is right for you and others is positive.
I also know teachers don’t get paid for the holidays or work 9-3!!

I'm a parent of a secondary school pupil in Scotland, each time a strike has been called teachers have been used so either the primaries or secondary are open so no standard school has been closed for more than one day at any given time. It has been no more disruptive than a voting day or teacher training day. I 100% support the teachers striking, the unpaid hours and the ridiculously low pay increases for too long is not on. We need the best of the best teaching our kids and won't get that treating teachers like they are sub par

Could we be a bit sympathetic on both sides.

As a parent of a year 11 and 13 after they lost two years of little teaching during the covid years any further loss of teaching is worrying.

I can also sympathise with teachers totally fed up

no sympathy that should say!
Which would be obvious to most, but thought I should clarify!

I don’t have any experience of working in a secondary school but it does seem to me (as the parent of 3 teens) that it is a much harder job. Certainly in terms of staying late and marking etc.

I've taught both, and adult Ed.

They are VERY different jobs.

One isn't harder than the other. Both have their pros and cons, and both come with long hours outside of school time. Marking load usually depends on the subject and, to an extent, the time of the year, especially in secondary.

Pitting teachers in different key stages and different sectors is never going to be a good idea. It's very difficult to compare the roles as the differences in the roles are huge.

So we were both right in our own ways, as in both terms are correct just in different ways

both right in your own way… are you speaking ‘your truth’ 🤣

Do you not understand the reason for this is cause there are not enough teachers as they are all leaving the profession because their pay and conditions are so poor its not worth doing a job most of them love? A few days won't ruin their education, and of they get decent terms maybe some of the amazing teachers who have left will consider coming back

You had a few posts removed, so it wasn't just one, and you're still going in this reply. Debate great, but don't bully. MN has left you talk guidelines on your removed posts, so i suggest you click and read.

You're a bully.

I was hoping this poster would apologise but they just keep insulting

I’m really not!
I would argue that someone who maligns teachers is actually a bully, but maybe that’s a whole different thread…

I'm sympathetic to both sides, but trying to day they lost two years with little teaching is an exaggeration surely. Surely most schools lost the summer term of 2020, then had disruption across 20-21, but were more open than not? My DD missed y11 but last academic year had only 3 days of covid closures at college.

Y11s can spend a strike day doing revision. Ok the syllabus might be completed a week later than usual, but they will have gained the revision time, and the new work will be fresh in their minds.

I feel exactly the same about my daughter in year 13. She has mocks in a few weeks and also hasn’t covered all the curriculum. They have already been told they will not have any basic checks of their coursework before it goes in. 😡😡

You expect an apology ? 😆 Like I said, are you quite well.

I would rather get permanently booted off here and maintain my opposing position re your antiquated, 1950s view of working contracts and your rock bottom low opinion of teachers. than ever say sorry for my comments on this thread.

Have a word with yourself, honestly!

Going to report you for calling me a bully!
I feel so insulted …

You really are. It's OK to disagree with me, but the personal insults are just nasty!

FGS

Any chance the adults could get on with the discussion?