Teachers strike... what will actually happen in end?!

[SpringPop]

My school is striking again next week with others that have teachers from the particular union.

All that is happening is parents are getting massively angry. Kids are missing out. I've used so much holiday on strike days as I have multiple children. I know my anger should not be directed to school but exactly where can I direct it to? I'm pretty sure my MP wouldn't care. He's completely useless.

The government don't seem to care.

I personally think something needs to change in that profession and funding in my area is shocking! It's probably not attracting the best people to the profession and certainly is driving people away.

However, am I right in thinking rishi and co don't care?! Teachers could do 5, 10, 100 days and it seems they won't budge right?

Parents don't seem to care or get angry enough, short of tweeting about it or writing to MP. It isn't really enough to get this resolved.

How do you think this situation will end?

A snotty parent posting day on night on mumsnet about the attitude of teachers whilst failing to see their part in the crisis. Absolute classic mn reading and trolling.

Yep

I must have missed my gold plated pension? This is such a myth. We pay a huge whack of salary into it, it’s not ‘free’.

Interesting that you regard your contribution as “a huge whack” at 8-10%, but fail to recognise the 24% paid by your employer.

Interesting that you are failing to address the issue that the employer contributions are paying for current pensions, not future ones.

It was what they are calling a 'Respect' card, one Deputy's attempt at controlling behaviour in corridors, round the site and, interestingly, out of school. When I discussed this with said Deputy, he proceeded to tell me that 'absolutely' behaviour out of school, even out of uniform, was the school's concern and the 'rules here' mean the card must be carried at all times. Graciously 🙄 he agreed to disagree with me when I told him that my children's behaviour out of school was my concern as a parent, and nothing to do with the school. I really didn't care for his tone at all. I told him there was no way I would support an after school for a 12 year old with ADHD losing 2ins card when it was a first offence, so they took a lunchtime from him instead. I was bloody livid. And then teachers wonder why parents think they are a shower of.....

If that's aimed at me, it's actually a parent that's held QTS for 22 years being aghast at the state of the teaching profession today, specifically the quality of teachers serving currently. Hope that helps.

And yet you don't understand that you are getting what you pay for.

so effectively you’re happy that going forwards new teachers will carry the burden of paying your gold plated pension?
The staff on the lowest pay, new teachers, will be propping you up - when you could vote to reduce your pension and provide more cash every month for current teachers.

Or you could work more days to earn more salary, I’m sure most parents would prefer not to have the annual scramble for holiday clubs, staggered leave with their partner etc to cover 13 weeks of no school.
And that’s without the days already taken/lost due to your strikes.

And yet you don't understand that you're not providing value for money currently, let alone becoming more expensive 🙄

The staff on the lowest pay, new teachers, will be propping you up - when you could vote to reduce your pension and provide more cash every month for current teachers.

? I'm not going to be collecting a teaching pension for at least another couple of decades (and that keeps increasing).

Reducing employer contributions now - where will the money come from to pay the current retired teachers' pensions? Because that's what it's paying for, not my future pension.

I provide fucking amazing value for money, personally.

I imagine that may be subjective.

I know whose opinions I value, and whose are totally worthless...

And again, I imagine that may be subjective.

If you're so aghast at the state of teaching today, why aren't you going back to the classroom to show everyone how it's meant to be done? What's stopping you? You're qualified, you could go back at any time.

I actually agree with you - it's not the school's responsibility to parent my child out of school hours and I can see why you complained. But not every parent thinks like that and I can see the school might see it as stepping into to enforce boundaries of behaviour when some parents can't be arsed. But you're tainting the entire teaching profession with this one example. As I said in my last post, if you think it's so appalling, why don't you return to the classroom yourself?

I tried. Three times to be precise, lost out to someone younger and cheaper on all occasions despite bumping into one HOD a couple of years later (I knew her socially as went to school with her sister) who said they still had no clue what happened as they wanted to appoint me but the Head offered the job to the cheapest candidate instead. I've already said a couple of times that I'd go back if I could!

The irony of this, TheSnootiestFox

This is a major issue. You think all teachers are crap, apparently. Yet you, an apparently experienced one, can't get a job because you are too expensive.

This is the teacher brain drain in action.

Teachers like me are stuck. Stuck at the top of the pay scale with quality of life going backwards, can't change schools because no one will employ an experienced UPS3 on a UPS3 salary when they can take on an ECT for much less... so I left the classroom, but carried on in Education. Many others just leave altogether.

So I wonder why the SLT in schools are getting younger and less effective and teachers are young, last 5 years and seem to produce a level of contempt in you that is really bloody hurtful and offensive?

Join the dots.

they wanted to appoint me but the Head offered the job to the cheapest candidate instead. I've already said a couple of times that I'd go back if I could!

But you can! Michael Gove cleverly removed pay portability, so no problems. You can be paid at the same rate as the ECT and they’d go for you instead with all your years of teaching experience.

You could go back if you wanted to – you could accept a job on a lower pay scale. But you want be decently rewarded for the commitment you're making and the long hours and hefty workload, right? Which is the entire point of the strike!

Well, I was rather thinking the same about you. You can't manage a grown up discussion so insult me instead! Guess what? I'm not bothered. You're not understanding that people are actually allowed to have other opinions than the ones you hold. Not everyone thinks the sun shines out of the teaching profession's collective bottom. The sooner you understand that teaching should be more about the kids and less about your bank balance the better. You have no clue about my career path, what I do now, who I advise and govern, and are coming across as a ranty militant unable to acknowledge that teachers are a huge part of the current problems. Do enjoy your extra time off.

You can't manage a grown up discussion so insult me instead!

Actually I posted graphs and figures that illustrated that you were wrong.

No, I offered to go back on the starting salary because at the time (2016) I was earning less than that. NQT got the job and lasted all of about 18 months 🙄