The teachers strikes now... But back in the 80s why did they strike so much?

[stillenacht]

Just reading the thread about the 1987 storm and it reminded me of the teachers strikes around that time. As a teacher now I can totally understand why we are striking. Why did the teachers strike in the 80s... From what I remember (ok I was a pupil) it looked pretty cushy being a teacher in the 80s compared to now.

For a sanctified lunch hour, for a specified directed time, to limit break duties and include them as directed time.

These are all I can think of right now, but like you I was a pupil at the time. I have since spent time as a union rep.

Ah I see. Lunch hour, whats that? 45 mins in my school (and I run clubs in them!) Thanks though Remember every lesson in the 80s being,"Turn to page 14 and copy the example and do the exercises".

I was a teacher in the 80s.
You know all those that think they know what teaching is like because they were pupils at one time?

That's you right now.

I know I know but I really don't recall the teachers being that stressed out about our GCSE grades (I was first year) as we are now (what with frigging fft and stuff). Lessons were generally chalk and talk and not edutainment like they are now and parents were grateful if teachers ran clubs and didnt expect it like they do now (of course this might have only been my experience).

No restrictions on how much you could be asked to do.
Lunchtime duty meant you had to eat with the children, and that could be stomach-churning.
No internet, so you actually had to know and understand the stuff you were teaching.
There was no double-click and download, or jazzy shazam interactive stuff, you involved, educated and interested the children as a one-woman show.
No INSET days, the majority of training was twilight.
Yes, I ran two clubs a week.

As a child of the 80s

My lessons all consisted of turn to page 27 and complete exercise 1-3. If you finish do exercise 4.
There were no revision classes, target grades or interventions.
I can't remember many clubs - although I can remember a teacher who did gardening , fishing and car repairs.

I was quite shocked when I went into teaching at the amount I was expected to do.

I have been teaching for 20 years so I too remember the days before internet. They were simpler days as I recall but poss cos I was younger then. I run 4 lunchtime clubs and two after school clubs as a part timer and even then I am expected to improve year on year in my performance management. Of course its only my experience but the teachers didnt seem to be under huge amounts of stress to show that every child had made progress.. I remember observations in the 90s being mostly about teaching content, differentiation and management of resources, I wish it was so simple now!

So, as to avoid teaching three set 5 (Y9 set 5 in today's language) at least that was what our biology teacher said.

He was the union rep. they were meant to refuse to vary which non exam classes the long running action affected. But all the half day strikes were Thursday afternoons.

I was doing O/A levels so it was only no clubs that affected us

Absolutely Arisbottle I totally agree.

Maths... Peak Maths... Turn to page 8

Music... Enjoying Music by Roy Bennett (used one in an A level class the other day...ah the nostalgia!).. Turn to page 14

French... Tricolore... Turn to page 16

Latin... Cambridge Latin Course... Turn to page 40

Biology.. CSE Biology book in years7,8,9... Turn to page 28..

I could go on. Art and PE were the only subjects not like this.

I wish I'd started teaching ten years earlier, I'd be retired.
I hate the direction that teaching has taken, the loss of a holistic approach based on the needs of the child and that education used to be about life-long learning and not quick fix solutions.

I agree with you there Silverapples

I'm primary, not secondary so that skews my experiences of the 80s.
Did you fail your O levels/GCSEs? Do you remember anything of what you learned?
The majority of the educational experiences my children had in school at GCSE seem to have been fragmented and unembedded.

I got 5 As 4Bs and a C in my 1988 GCSEs. Very proud I was (of course in today's currency that would translate as at least 5 A*, 4As and a B). Although the C was in maths and the head of maths at my current school reckons that would translate as an A now.

I was an intrinsically motivated learner (thank God!)

I remember my languages vocab, nothing from science, geography or history and of course, I remember playing in the school orchestra and band

Other things I remember from the 80s were:

kids in primaries being used as helpers for teachers (making them tea), kids getting smacked on the bum by the Headmistress, older kids acting as teaching assistants to infants, playing elastics, elastics getting banned, loads of salt you could add to school dinners, disabled child whose garden backed onto our school playground just left in his garden all day long (used to watch him when I should have been doing my Peak Maths book or that English book with the flower on it).

God it makes my 80s education sound really crap. I enjoyed the country dancing though.