AIBU to feel that teachers shouldn't really be striking?

[Pinky1011]

They have 3 months PAID holidays only work 9-4pm, no dangerous or really bad working conditions, great job security, good pensions, They had pay rises last year up to 8%!!! I work in the private sector and haven't had a pay rise in almost 6 years! I just feel compared to alot of other professions, teachers have it quite good? I mean their starting salary is the same as a junior doctor. I get it inflation has wrecked everyone, but surely the issue should be getting inflation down? Not just demanding for more money, which by the way only fuels inflation further. AIBU to feel that teachers just don't know how good they have it compared to the rest of us?

ps I agree with the posts about the admin and crap curriculum. But what has that got to do with pay? They have been offered 9 percent in Scotland but want 10.

like the OP in the private sector this is laughable. I had two per cent this year and work long hours

I’m not actually striking over my pay which, despite the nightmare working conditions, is not horrendous BUT my last pay rise was taken away from my children, not from the over paid pockets of stinking MPs (who can choose whether they sit and do their job and then go eat in tax payer funded restaurants). Paying for that 5%, below inflation pay rise means that now a child that needs a 1:1 won’t get it as the funding is never enough to pay someone, so part of it comes from school budgets; that a child who needs pastoral care as their parents have just divorced will not get it; that the playground that always floods, meaning we can’t use it for a day or two after it rains, won’t get fixed. That’s why I’m striking - I can’t strike over the govt inability to find money for my children, while still ‘accidentally’ mis-paying their taxes or re-decorating their homes or painting a bloody plane!

I’m a Teaching Assistant with a degree. When I first started this role I thought I might like to train to be a teacher myself in time. Now I have have had plenty of opportunity to observe the stress that teachers have to put up with, the insults and bad behaviour (most parents would be horrified) I have given up the idea. I wouldn’t be a teacher despite the fact I like working with young people and I would like the teachers salary compared to the TA salary.
Teachers work bloody hard and need to be well paid for it.
Also, I voted to strike as support staff. Not because I wasn’t satisfied with the extra pay that was being offered, but because the proposal was that it came out of existing school budgets. State schools have no spare money. This is also the reason many teachers in my school are choosing to strike.

lol at inflation being exasperated. Think you mean exacerbated.
i will put my red pen away now.
kve , a teacher

@Pinky1011 your logic about pay is flawed. Let's compare two graduates from the same year, shall we?

Graduate 1 (M): gets a 2.2 in undergrad. Realising 1st degree is not the best for getting a career, Does a conversion course (masters) in computer science. Now works for a big tech company for a 6 figure salary. Works full time, approx 50 hours a week.

Graduate 2 (F): gets a 1st class degree in undergrad. Realises degree subject is not the best, career wise, and does a PGCE, thinking it will fit around family really well. Becomes primary teacher. Is promoted to head of year quickly. Works 50 hours per week. Earns a maximum of £43k per year because she's hit the top of UPS. No lead practitioner posts available in primary.

So despite my better degree but poor career choices driven by my (quite laughable) thoughts about teaching fitting around my family, my husband (Graduate 1) earns over 3x what I do. Lesson: do not go into teaching if you want to be fairly rewarded for your efforts.

Except if everyone does that, there won't be any teachers. If you want the best people to be teachers, it has to be competitive.

The other knock on effect is that because it's mainly women who go into teaching, they are the ones consistently giving up their careers or going part time when kids come along because they are the lower earner. The patriarchy do things like this to teachers and nurses to keep the pay gap larger.

I know why I'm feeding the troll but just don't want anyone out here believing this because it's rolled round to parents waking up to read this fabricated nonsense:

it's to be paid more money when teachers already had a nice pay rise and got paid all throughout COVID when schools were closed for the most part.

They were with children who's parents were essential workers, in schools. They were unvaccinated whilst being exposed to the children of people who were mixing with others who could have had covid. Quite a few teachers died due to this, if you can cast your mind back the news at the time.

When they weren't, they were online trying to educate children who's parents for the most part could not be arsed to help prop up home learning.

I'm curious as to what people were clapping for when they clapped for the NHS, teachers, etc.? Did they not actually appreciate them? Was it more of a 'I only appreciate you whilst you're underpaid, struggling and I can pity you, otherwise up yours' kind of clap?

We.
Can.
Only.
Strike.
About.
Pay.

What I want to strike about is how the system is failing millions of children. There is no money for mental help support (I am a DDL and I am massively worried about the suicidal children being fobbed off elsewhere telling them to 'be positive, try an elastic band around their wrist'), no money to fix the building or pay for heating, the food, the only hot meal for a large number of our students, consistently falling is quality despite our team trying desperately to provide tasty nutritious food. We currently have supply teachers in every single department as no one wants to be a teacher anymore. We are on version 11 of our timetable to make changes to ensure non-specialist supply are not on GCSE and A Level classes; newsflash, they are; we don't have a history teacher in the building.

I want to strike about the conditions your children face everyday, but I can't. I earn enough to live on but it is now not enough for many to cope with the above. My mental health is suffering because of this, and I am failing my own children if I do not do something about it.

My next step is to leave. Like thousands who are already; we have had 9 leave since September, 6 of them left the profession. This number is now changing monthly. Something needs to change.

@Twiglets1 Thanks for pointing out the proposal was that it came out of existing school budgets. State schools have no spare money. This is also the reason many teachers in my school are choosing to strike.

I didn't know this and it's extremely useful to know when it isn't publicised, in order to garner public hate for the strikes.

@scoutcat maybe it's the lack of fingers!?!?!

honestly, don't rise to goady twats! There are enough genuine people that are a bit dim.

@Pinky1011 I just cant be bothered with your ignorance, but please, please, please, please apply as a teacher. I know you say you have no passion or interest, but that wont matter.

We desperately need people, any people at all to be available to stand in front of a class, so that we don't have to send classes home because we cant provide the ratio of adults to children required

Honestly, you will never get to the stage where you even had an opportunity to express any passion or interest anyway.

You get to benefit, briefly, from all that lovely pay, conditions and holiday you keep talking about, before getting ripped to shreds and burnt out, and we get to keep a extra class in the school, for maybe 6 -9 months

win win!

I think to realise there’s something wrong with the workload and pay of teaching you only have to look at the numbers of ex teachers. The governments own figures show huge numbers of NQTs leaving in the first five years.

9-4 🤣🤣🤣 Is this post sarcastic! Good one @Pinky1011! Sat here laughing my head off. 😂😂

Your father went to work in a private school where he gets paid a higher wage and longer holidays. I’m not sure how you can use him as an example to support your argument.

Try harder, 3/10

This one is the giveaway. Reported.

Feeling the need to put words in capital letters shows you know you are talking bollocks.

Not this again
We are not paid for holidays
We are paid for the WEEKS we work ...in my case then divided by12 so I get paid the same each month...plus added into this is 20 days paid holiday that most people are entitled to.

I'm at my desk at 7-30 and rarely leave before 6pm
No lunch break or coffee breaks...as I'm on playground duty or running a club...we eat with the children so no break then either .

And I'm a TA !!!!

You’re actually agreeing with my point that pensions are a huge part of the problem.

Well, yes. Sort of. They're a problem necause they distort people's understanding (those promised them and others trying to assess their overall "package" against those workers) because it's seen as a secure snd generous pension on paper, and yet... it doesn't exist! And I can guarantee you it will not be paid out at the levels currently promised to those in their 20s/ 30s even 40s now. Because there is no fund. Nothing has been paid anywhere. It would have to be paid out if general taxation and there won't be enough to do it.

Weird you haven’t retrained if it’s so golden.

And yet despite the job being such a doss massive numbers leave shortly after qualification. There is a real crisis in teacher numbers...I wonder why?

Like most other teachers, I'm striking because the pay rises were not funded by the government so children have lost out massively. If I could strike about school budgets and working conditions I would. Instead every year I consider leaving over working conditions.

@Pinky1011 You lost me with teachers “don’t care”. We are with your children all day, Mon to Fri. In some cases, we may be with your children more hours than you are. Do not tell teachers they don’t care when we are not only educating in a broken system but we are on the frontline of social care too. Friday I didn’t leave school til late as I had a student imply they would take their own life this weekend. I obviously went through safeguarding channels but that isn’t quick - I ended up missing collecting my own child at 5 for end up after school club session so have been awarded a penalty but I don’t care about that. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that student. Fuck off “I don’t care”.

If your pay and conditions are so shit maybe you need to organise a strike?

Fellow teacher here - I second every word of this! ⬆️

You are clearly ill informed.

@Pinky1011 they can only strike over pay. Good to know you did your research before coming on here and acting like a muppet.