Parents - how do you feel about teaching unions?

[Musicaldilemma]

Following various exchanges in real life and on here, I was wondering what other parents currently feel and think of teaching unions? Do you know a lot about them? What do you feel their role is and should be in this pandemic? If you are able to, please clarify if you are a parent married to a teacher or teacher parent. Or just a parent like myself with a few friends who are teachers. I was interested to see that teaching unions in Switzerland, for example, really pushed the message that schools must be and stay open for children’s mental health.

If unions gave an actual sh1t about children they’d be working with government

I don’t know if you know this, but the government won’t actually work with the unions at all, despite repeated pleas that they do so.

The DfE was told off by the Education Select Committee for making all its stupid decisions without passing them by anyone actually involved in education first.

I can see why government won't work with unions. Maybe if unions changed their modus operandi (obstructive and unprofessional imo) then government might be more willing to engage.

People telling me I don't have kids welfare at heart, how I will cause an attainment gap, how it is all teachers fault - well people saying that can just fuck off.

Seconded. I’m a teacher for the same excellent reasons as Enemy. And you are trying to tell teachers that we will be perceived as not caring about kids and blamed for the attainment gap? When we have chosen to spend our working lives trying to help children thrive and achieve? Because our union dared to ask for safer conditions for us and whole school communities?

What a topsy turvy world you seem to inhabit.

@MNnicknameforCVthreads

I can see why government won't work with unions. Maybe if unions changed their modus operandi (obstructive and unprofessional imo) then government might be more willing to engage.

What is obstructive and unprofessional about the NAHT or the ASCL?

Do you not think that the Department for Education should be working with headteachers?

Then they might not make so many announcements that they then have to u-turn on because it turns out to be unworkable or just plain shit.

They are too militant. I taught for 25 years before early retirement but do not support the demands made by some teaching unions during first lockdown advising their members not to do online learning.

@noblegiraffe

You also don’t appear to have acknowledged, OP, that despite what you claimed, it doesn’t appear that the vast majority of parents hate the teaching unions.

How do you know this?

Well, 0gfhty the OP started this thread hoping to get an overwhelming teacher union bashing and that hasn't happened, has it?

DfE guidance to schools during first lockdown:

"Do schools need to provide educational support for pupils at home?
We recognise that many schools have already shared resources for children who are at home and are grateful for this.
DfE is working with the BBC and other partners to provide advice and support directly to parents, including online resources they can access for their children at home."

And for the person earlier who was complaining about a Labour council arranging a hub school, this was from the DfE:

"Can provision be shared across local authority areas?
If a school is unable to open, local authorities should try to coordinate provision for pupils in other schools in their area. If this is not possible, local authorities should consider working with neighboring local authorities while keeping in mind the impact on children. Regional school commissioners (RSCs) can support conversations between local authorities where necessary.
Some multi-academy trusts operate across different local authorities and can assist in making arrangements between their schools if appropriate."

@Musicaldilemma have you read what the unions have actually said? or just what the media have said that they're saying? because the two are very rarely the same.

I don't think there's anything wrong with the unions' communications if you actually read them. It what happens between journalists getting hold of them, and what hits the print and digital media.

[quote saraclara]@Musicaldilemma have you read what the unions have actually said? or just what the media have said that they're saying? because the two are very rarely the same.

I don't think there's anything wrong with the unions' communications if you actually read them. It what happens between journalists getting hold of them, and what hits the print and digital media.[/quote]
It’s the SM campaigns that stick and get attention. From NEU particularly

@noblegiraffe - that is not why I started this thread. I am trying to help you. If you can’t see that then you cannot be helped.

From the other thread you said: "You are not listening when I tell you that the unions have indeed alienated the vast majority of parents."

And then you just happen to start a thread asking what parents think of teaching unions when you already think you know the outcome.

Trying to help my arse. You just wanted to be right. And you weren't.

And god knows who you're trying to 'help' with your patronising pomposity - I'm a maths teacher and not even in the union you've got in mind.

Totally support them. They’re so important. The government would trample all over teachers (and countless other professions) without them.

I can't believe people think teachers are workshy. I also can't believe how much ignorance is on display in this thread regarding the purpose and role of trade unions.

No problem with teachers being in unions. At all. Bit of a goady OP.

Parent , no teachers in the family. I think teacher’s unions are doing what they should be doing , looking after their members.

The people I do hold partly responsible for the current mess we are in (apart from the Government) are the Us for Them people who just would not listen when warned that all children back with no mitigation would not work long term. I don’t understand how they had so much influence.

The people I do hold partly responsible for the current mess we are in (apart from the Government) are the Us for Them people who just would not listen when warned that all children back with no mitigation would not work long term. I don’t understand how they had so much influence.

Absolutely. There are teachers and children's family members who would have become ill or even died, because UsForThem's influence resulted in children going back to school when it was dangerous to do so.

@noblegiraffe

Well, 0gfhty the OP started this thread hoping to get an overwhelming teacher union bashing and that hasn't happened, has it?

Oh I see, I thought you had a survey or something. I'm not sure Mumsnet threads reflect how people feel in real life.

[quote Musicaldilemma]@noblegiraffe - that is not why I started this thread. I am trying to help you. If you can’t see that then you cannot be helped.[/quote]

'Help' doing a lot of work here.

I have fallen out of support for my own union. I want to support all unions, but then mine took stands I didn't agree with at all.

I struggle to muster an opinion about someone else's union.

Feels like lots of keyworkers who have strong unions are sharp elbowing to demand being made high vaccine priority. Not a good look. Other keyworkers may be at higher risk but won't be heard. argh.

[quote Musicaldilemma]@noblegiraffe - that is not why I started this thread. I am trying to help you. If you can’t see that then you cannot be helped.[/quote]
How are you helping?

I genuinely cannot understand this at all, perhaps I'm a bit dim. But so many of us posters have firstly, supported the teaching unions' stance and secondly, pointed out that IT DOES NOT FUCKING MATTER what parents feel about them.

All unions are there to fight for safer and better working conditions for their members. That is why members pay subs to them.

That is what the teaching unions have done.

Parents opinions and views on teaching unions and what they should be doing neither help nor hinder teachers. They are utterly irrelevant. No one is interested. No one will take these views into account. Those posters declaring they have lost all respect for teaching unions are laughable. I bet the unions are gutted by this news...

Do some of you genuinely not understand what unions are for? They are not there to prioritise childrens' welfare over teachers' welfare. They are there to support their members.

I'm a big supporter of unions. Every worker should be in a union.

I probably don't agree with every position every teachers union has taken during the pandemic but so what? That changes nothing about my feelings with regards to the value of unions. Unions are brilliant. If you're not in one, join one.

I think the unions have been repeatedly proven right. Every time they say that schools should close/remain closed because they're not safe and increase community transmission, parents and the government recoil in horror.

Then a couple of days later they close because they're not safe and increase community transmission.

Parent, non teacher here. I have worked with the DfE on projects and found them generally obstructive and interested only in their bottom line budgets at the expense of education and safety IMO. I hope this is only my personal experience.

I fully support teachers and their unions. Both as a wider support for workers rights, but also for the shit sandwich teachers have been served by the media and politico's these past few years/decades.

Go and read the NEU website it’s all very clear and very reasonable. If the government had followed union advice we wouldn’t be in this mess and schools would be safer. They had all summer to prepare safer ways to open. People are judging with little or no real knowledge. Fake news again.