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Original poster

NUT strike 5th July

150 replies

Dripdrop · 23/06/2016 19:12

Are people striking?

OP posts:
Feenie · 27/06/2016 21:16

If you genuinely think that the most important thing affecting you and the people around you at the moment is teachers' pay and conditions, then I do feel you must have a very limited social and professional circle.

No, I don't, as I have repeatedly explained through the Let Kids Be Kids responses from parents. Again - if they understand why it HAS to be about pay and conditions, but know exactly what it's really about, why can't you?

Your NUT members need to leave the union - why be in a union you can't support? My school will be completely closed, as will ds's. There will be a rally and a march in the city. I believe Let Our Kids are trying to organise parallel marches.

You just toddler on with the assessment regime as is then. And spout on about fictitious teachers who just want more pay.

teacherwith2kids · 27/06/2016 21:19

Feenie,

As it happens, the only parents I know in let Kids be Kids are actually ex-teachers.

As say, i would gladly teach MORE on that day. I would gladly teach BETTER on that day. But I refuse not to teach the people who most need to be taught.

teacherwith2kids · 27/06/2016 21:22

And you can say what you like about what YOU think he protest is about - as I say, the NUT PR machine isn't being exactly effective in getting that message into the wider community's consciousness.

Every time the government can point to lazy teachers taking another day out of school at the expense of hard-working parents, the more likely the very things you fear will come to pass with parents' blessing.

teacherwith2kids · 27/06/2016 21:26

As I know you will say to your children daily, as i say to my class too - what matters is not what you think you meant. If the other person feels that you were being unkind, then that is a problem and we need to sort it out.

So you can say 'it is about children's education'. But while the wider public doesn't perceive it like that, and while the protest takes the form of not educating those children, what you MEAN is less important than what people PERCEIVE that you mean.

Feenie · 27/06/2016 21:28

How can they, when legally that's all we are allowed to take action over? They have to rely on parents' groups getting the message out there to stay within the law.

Parents'' blessing - if you cannot see how much support is out there from parents sick to death of the new testing regime, the curriculum and the threat of academisation to our children's dude, then I'm afraid I think it's you who lives in a bubble. A significant portion of parents have had enough. Just look at the huge response the academisation thread got on here - just on or two people in support and many posters demanding that teachers' unions strike.

GinandJag · 27/06/2016 21:29

I'm only in a union for the liability insurance. I have no use for them otherwise.

Feenie · 27/06/2016 21:29

*children's education

Sleeperandthespindle · 27/06/2016 21:44

All 7 of our NUT members are striking. School will be closed.

NUT members who choose to break the strike should not be members of the union!

yzme · 27/06/2016 21:55

NUT members who choose to break the strike should not be members of the union!

Agreed!

Feenie · 27/06/2016 22:17

The, teacherwith2kids, the only negative stuff I've seen on social.media has been this thread - everything else I've seen from the public has been more 'about time', and that's especially after the 'Leave' vote. A lot of people are even more angry.

Feenie · 27/06/2016 22:18

*tbh

noblegiraffe · 27/06/2016 22:55

I follow a lot of teachers on Twitter and there has been zero comment on the strike. None.

You're going to lose a day's pay and no one will even notice.

teacherwith2kids · 28/06/2016 07:24

Noble,

Absolutely agree. But then, I live in an area where a 'Let Kids Be Kids' event on the day that the children were meant to be missing school had, IIRC, c. 10 attendees (from a large town) and no school that I know of had any children absent.

Many, many teachers would not be members of a union if professional indemnity insurance was available as a stand-alone product elsewhere. i moved unions when the one I had chosen for its anti-strike stance, ATL, called a strike, and looked into a stand-alone insurance product instead. At that time I could find none.

teacherwith2kids · 28/06/2016 07:26

(Only 1 NUT member on our staff had even heard that there might be a strike. And even that was from a conversation with the head on another occasion, not from anything else.)

noblegiraffe · 28/06/2016 07:42

On the other hand, I believe in trade unions, strike when called to (including a school-based strike recently that I voted against), am totally pissed off with the way education is going (maths teacher with crappy new GCSEs, Y7 resits looming and a DS in Y2). And I still think this strike at this time is a terrible idea.

TheDailyMailareabunchofcunts · 28/06/2016 07:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Terrifiedandregretful · 28/06/2016 10:22

I have to admit I'm in two minds about striking for the first time ever. I just don't think it looks good at this time. But then I worry if lots don't strike it will look even worse as it will weaken the NUT.

DullUserName · 28/06/2016 11:43

It alarms me that there are NUT members who claim to not realise that there was a strike. The letters and emails reminding us to vote were arriving with astonishing frequency. I even had a phonecall too.

Feenie · 28/06/2016 12:46

Mine too.

Plenty on Twitter after a cursory search. Another group called Parents Defending Education has given its backing.

Re the timing, I thin that could work both ways - from what I've seen, it's made many, many people.even angrier at this government and for some is the last straw.

teacherwith2kids · 28/06/2016 17:55

Dull,

I suspect that might be the issue - if the water company writes to me, i read it, because know that they ONLY send me post or e-mail about things that are important (I have opted out of all direct marketing from all companies).

Whereas my union - and from what I understand, the NUT is the same - sends lots of stuff ALL the time. Once I have had 5 reminders for local meet-ups (plus 5 more in the next county, because I once worked there), voting for local representatives (from both my old county and my new one), updates and newsletters from the central union and the local branches, I tend to quail at the sight of the logo and put them in my 'to open when I clear my desk in the school holiday' pile....

MrsGuyOfGisbo · 29/06/2016 16:09

Not actually losing a days' pay.
Losing 1/365 th.
Which means you could strike every day of the school year, as well as inset days ( ie 195 days) and still get paid 53% of your salary...
Logically you should lose 1/195th, so strike that day and be quids in.

noblegiraffe · 29/06/2016 16:20

You lose 1/195.

NCtoprotectmyidentity · 29/06/2016 16:36

Our teachers membership of NUT is quite high but none are striking.

Feenie · 29/06/2016 16:48

Just bumped into two other teachers at the childminder's - both their schools are closing (same inner city LEA).

toomuchicecream · 29/06/2016 19:36

After much anguish, the lure of a day off mid week and only having to plan 4 days next week not 5 was too much for me. So I'm out. As are the other 3 NUT members at my school so it looks as if we will be partially closed. One of them isn't class based, but 3 of the 7 classes will be effected.