Teachers striking on 5th October!

[IwishIwasmoreorganised]

We've had a letter home today saying that some teachers in ds's school will be on strike on 5th October. Luckily neither of our ds's classes are affected.

I thought that public sector workers were being balloted over striking on 30th November about the proposal to change their pensions again, but I kew nothing about the 5th October.

Anybody else affected by this?

I am not a teacher nor do I think I could be one despite a degree but I BACK THEM 100%. They do a very hard and thankless (at times) job. They are not there as a cheap source of childcare.
Yes we are all feeling the pinch but unless the Govt provide the figures which the teaching unions ask for then how can they possibly see or accept that this is not just a "public sector it's all their fault doncha know" exercise?
Interesting that they won't provide the figures isn't it?

noblegiraffe - no one is saying that anyone can teach;quality of entrants to teaching and competency of a some existing teachers under the age of 45 in the profession is for another post. I agree that teachers aren't afforded the status and salary that they received 30+ years ago.

As teaching salaries are low compared to most jobs, most graduates will go into other fields - mathematicians and statisticians into engineering and acturial work, etc. That would explain shortages in key subjects. I am Chemistry Graduate, but I earn more than I would as a Chemistry Teacher.

They do a very hard and thankless (at times) job.

You know them all do you?

What a ridiculous statement.

sanctimonious comes to mind

It never ceases to amaze me how many working parents there are who failed to realise when planning their families, that there would be occasions when their children would need looking after. Did no-one tell them that schools aren't open 365 days a year and do not exist to provide childcare?

Totally agree with Tectime re competency and quality of some teachers.

And, no, there is no longer a shortage of Maths teachers, so don't fret about leaving your job if you're worried about our DC not knowing their maths.

What a ridiculous statement.
Well you don't appear to have any difficulty generalising

Now I'm really worried........ er, that's not generalising....

If I were to say "teachers are a very strange lot indeed", or "teachers are pretty thick, relatively", that would be generalising.

YummyHoney Sat 24-Sep-11 14:06:03

Totally agree with Tectime re competency and quality of some teachers.

You know them all do you?

Generalising and extremely insulting.

What isn't generalising YummyHoney?

As would "teachers are a pretty selfish lot, who have a high opionion of themselves, and think the public should pay for their pensions"

mrz - the clue is in the word some ....... another generalisation would be

"You teachers really are a thick lot, aren't you...."

I was referring to all your posts YummyHoney not that one in particular

there is no longer a shortage of Maths teachers

The teacher training agency and the bursary offered to train as a maths teacher suggests otherwise.

Anyway, back to the point of the OP's post - are teachers striking on 5 October?

The ones who work in Wales and are members of a particular union are

My statement regarding a "hard and thankless job" is no more ridiculous than many other statements here .
I stand by my statement, the majority of teachers do a good job and work very hard.
If your child can read, write, and is proficient in numeracy or any other subject then the likelihood is that somewhere along the line they will have had a teacher.

Give them some support instead of sneering & looking down your nose.

Clearly as teachers do such a god-awful job,and have it so easy, you should all home educate. You would then have the added advantage of not having to find any childcare when we pop out on strike at the drop of a hat!

Of course teachers are allowed to swear - the worry is that they can't articulate/conduct themselves in a better way.

If teachers had a good command of English, they wouldn't need to swear in order to get their point of view across.

Don't be so ridiculous! MN is hardly famous for hoards of inarticulate educational discussions.

ROFL You sure?

Positive! you don't often post

that's because I have a life, unlike the prolific posters on here.

I'm only posting on here because TES is scary