Who is/isn't striking among the NUT members here?

[lifeissweet]

Facing a dilemma. My beliefs about unions are based on the fact that united we have a voice. People fought to have the right to unionise. If a union calls a strike, then I believe all members have a responsibility to stand up together. Otherwise, we come across as divided, not united and it weakens us all.

Not for a long, long time has the teaching profession been under so much threat and we need to be united now more than at any time. Our terms and conditions are facing changes which will make teaching a far less stable and desirable profession (and not really a profession at all if unqualified teachers are allowed to take classes all over the place).

However, I am currently the only member of staff at my school who is prepared to strike on Thursday. Half of the other staff are NUT. Lots of the support staff are in striking unions, yet no one is striking (including the NUT rep). The Head has told me that if I strike I will be the only one and that he will have to close only my class that day and keep the rest of the school open, so everyone will know it is only me withdrawing my labour and am I 'prepared to take the flak for that?'

I'm not sure I am, but I believe really strongly in supporting the union. The thought of ignoring deeply held principles and breaking a strike sit uncomfortably with me.

My DS's school is closed on Thursday. Other local schools are too.

So is it just my school where there are no striking staff at all? And if you are NUT, why are you not striking? Is it just so as not to disrupt end of year activities, or because you think striking isn't helping? (I don't, incidentally, but will vote with my feet on that one and change unions when this is done.) How do you square that with yourself?

Not preaching. People have all manner of reasons for not striking. I just think I want to feel a bit less out on a limb!

Oh it's coming back to me now!

This one's one of the ones that thinks it used to be a teacher.

I think there must be a Teachville app on FB or something, given the number of 'ex-teachers' online who simply haven't the foggiest idea about, well, anything to do with teaching.

Boney, what are you talking about? I don't have any DGCs.

Parents just want a better education for their children, they are tired of the years of grade inflation and the slide backward in comparisons to other countries. If that means we have to change how teachers do things then so be it, whether they like it or not.

If you dont like the workload then get a different job, if you dont like the pay then go somewhere else. It seems to me that a lot of new recruits go into teaching not understanding how much hard work is involved. Well quite frankly I dont see any reason why teachers should have an easy job, if you put as much effort into your job as you do into your strikes then perhaps your performance would go up and you would get a pay rise.

I think a lot of parents would support a strike ban. We want teachers who want to be in the job not wingers moaning all the time about how unloved they are and how they should get paid more than everyone else.

SoveryLucky

I do indeed mean in the future :) but highjumper does illustrate the short-sightedness of some people.

"the slide backward in comparisons to other countries."

Its funny because no comparisons actually exist. the pisa tests etc. where never meant to be used to develop league tables across different countries.

"We want teachers who want to be in the job not wingers moaning all the time about how unloved they are and how they should get paid more than everyone else."

Again you put forward your opinion as fact, and as for the rest of your post you want someone who just does what you want with no voice.

If you dont like the workload then get a different job, if you dont like the pay then go somewhere else

Are you really sure you want me to do that? I'm a qualified maths teacher who gets excellent results. I went on maternity leave recently and my cover was shit. Another teacher in the department quit at Xmas, and their replacement is shit. But they are the only people who applied for the job. This story is repeated up and down the country.

Who would you really rather have teaching your kid maths? Me? Or someone terrible and not maths qualified, because that's what the country is left with?

noble

I think that various posters would be happy with anyone off the street that t hey can pay minimum wage to, that they can then blame for their children's bad results.

Oh I dunno...she may have a point...

tsk Boney

not their childrens bad results

Yes, Sorry I forgot all their children are geniuses (genii when not anglicized)

The problem is that really good teachers ARE deciding to leave teaching - there is, in the core subjects at least, a mass exodus happening. As an ex English Teacher (I left at Easter) and parent, I am genuinely worried about the tattered mess that education is due to be hanging in within the next few years. We desperately need to retain good teachers. When I qualified 7 years ago, there were 30 - 50 candidates chasing each English Teacher job - even really good schools are now lucky to get 1 or 2 applicants. Many schools simply can't recruit. We do not have the luxury of telling deeply unhappy teachers to simply go elsewhere if they don't like it.

Ah yes, I remember cotwatcher now - the minute I read the tosh on this thread claiming to be an ex-teacher, I remembered.

Cot, give it up, seriously - the more you post, the more obvious you make it that you weren't.

Actually, no, carry on; it's quite funny

jj that's exactly what is happening. There is a huge retention problem. Now what genius?

We want teachers who want to be in the job

So do teachers! It isn't happening though so perhaps there is a big problem.

Cot watcher-I simply don't believe you!

ok so lets accept there is a problem in retaining staff. We are going through a transition phase from the 'traditional' teachers who call it a vocation, expect long holidays, good pay, gold plated pensions, a low workload and feeling loved by the population. To a new generation of teachers who are motivated, professional, happy to earn their pay and the respect of parents and wont strike just because they dont like who won a general election.

In such a tough economy I dont imagine to many teaching jobs will stay empty for to long, and the freedom for heads to vary pay will enable them to offer higher wages for harder to fill posts.

To a new generation of teachers who are motivated, professional, happy to earn their pay and the respect of parents and wont strike.

This mythical generation does not exist. There lies the problem.

I dont imagine to many teaching jobs will stay empty for to long

There are unfilled teaching positions across the county here. We have two classes (primary) with no teacher for September as they cannot recruit.

Unison at my school cannot strike. When we became an academy the tupe agreement denied the right to strike... they slipped it in there without anyone knowing and unison is challenging but didn't go through in time for this strike.

JJ, you seem to think that if you treat teachers so badly that they quit, bright, enthusiastic professionals will be queuing up to replace them. Where is your evidence that this is happening? Remember the government wanted only teachers with a 2:2 or above to train? They had to back down for maths and physics and you can now train with a 3rd.

If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. It's obvious.

"wont strike just because they dont like who won a general election."

I wasn't aware that gove won a general election . In fact gove wasn't even elected to his position.

JJsleeping - there are many unfilled teaching positions across the country.

Teaching jobs used to get dozens of applicants. Many now don't.

Replacing HT positions is even harder.

And the number of teachers leaving the profession continues to increase. Many newly qualified teachers leave within the first 5 years of training.

To a new generation of teachers who are motivated, professional, happy to earn their pay and the respect of parents and wont strike.

And you are going to entice these young people into teaching by giving them £9k per year uni fees. (they still apparently have to be graduates)

give them low pay, long hours, no voice and be happy for it.

It reminds me of when their was mass unemployment and the employers kept the work force in line by saying that they should be glad to have a job.