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 Post subject: Support your teachers!
PostPosted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 11:04 am 
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Hawleytastic!

Joined: Tue Jan 26, 2010 10:56 am
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Location: London
I do realise that, up north, teachers have already taken action. But, darn sarf, our teachers are striking today.

I have written to both my kids' school heads expressing my support and made a point of embarrassing them by walking up to their teachers and telling them I appreciate that they don't take action lightly and that not all parents support Michael Gove and wishing them luck.

Compared to the shame of my clothing, my music tastes and my penchant for saying "Crickey", I'm sure my actions don't feature in the Top Ten Awful Things Your Parents Have Done In Public so, mum and dads, why not do the same? xx


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 7:43 pm 
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Hawleytastic!
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Location: Stoke-on-Trent
Thanks Helen - such words are appreciated. I'm actually in one of the unions that decided not to strike, but on this, I fully support my colleagues who do. Today, I explained - in an objective manner - to a very bright Y10 class, the sequence of changes that have been made to GCSE exams since the start of term and how this has meant that the school will not be entering them at the end of Y10, but at the end of Y11 for their exam. Their response was unprovoked outrage at how their education has been messed around with like a political football - they can also see that the latest change of only counting a student's first GCSE attempt in league tables is going to mean that the school is going to put itself - and not the child - first, when it comes to the timing of entries.

That's just one of many seemingly small changes that have been introduced without warning or consultation that have thrown planning out of the window. My department have had to change our GCSE scheme of work three times this year because of Gove's back of a fag-packet changes. Who suffers the most? The students.

I'm one of the luckier ones in terms of the pension changes, because I turned 50 a few months before the cut-off to the new pension arrangements, but some of my younger colleagues are going to be expected to work into their late 60s - heaven help them at that age, if they get that far. Union advice is simple - get out as soon as you can draw your pension, as research shows that you'll be dead years sooner, the longer you go after 55, such are the stresses in the current environment.

I know we're not the only profession suffering financially, but this strike is only partly about pay and pensions (By the way, the Teachers' pension is sustainable - in fact it even operates at a huge profit, so Tories, don't give me the crap about it being a drain on the country). The biggest issue for me is the systematic breakdown of state education and the social engineering that Gove and Co are throwing gleefully into the mix and the bonus add on of giving it over to multinationals like Pearson who will gain from selling resources. The Tories are doing this to the NHS - they're trying to do it with education. Over my dead body.

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PostPosted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 7:54 pm 
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Too much time on my hands
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My thoughts are with anyone striking. It's never an easy decision. So glad to be out of that environment now...

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PostPosted: Fri Oct 18, 2013 8:50 am 
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Hawleytastic!
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Extending full solidarity from overseas. As you can guess our government are doing the same here. I have great respect for teachers, who also have to be babysitters, and social workers at the same time. Most people I know dropped out of teacher training because they couldn't take the harassment, god help anyone approaching retirement age.

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PostPosted: Fri Oct 18, 2013 9:02 am 
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Hawleytastic!
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Alan Noir wrote:
Most people I know dropped out of teacher training because they couldn't take the harassment, god help anyone approaching retirement age.


Samantha had had enough last Summer and quit after 23 years in her 40's - the upside is she now does 'private lessons' from home - and gets paid the same for less hours - also does not have to 'put in' the extra hours associated with school teaching - though does loose out of holiday pay / sick pay / retirement benefits.

Mind you she wouldn't have left were it not for the crappiness of the job nowadays :evil:


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PostPosted: Fri Oct 18, 2013 11:38 am 
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Hawleytastic!

Joined: Tue Jan 26, 2010 10:56 am
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So eloquently put Nick. I think most parents know that the teachers are the ones sticking up for standards in education. And Pops, your lady's story is one I hear from my friends who are teachers all the time.

Recently I met up with a couple of mates who I hadn’t seen for twenty years. When we were teenagers, I was always the leftie dropout, ranting about the ills of the world. And they were the nice girls. And we all went off to have families and they both became teachers.

Anyhow, I was saying how short the school holidays seemed this year and made a joke that, if Michael Gove had his way, they’d be even shorter next year. And as soon as I said his name, they both went off on one, the most polite starting her tirade with: “The man is just an evil c**t…, and they proceeded to turn the air blue for ten minutes, much to the shock of fellow diners in the middle-class gastro pub. It was a new experience for me, being the shy and retiring one for once!!

Good luck to you all, I would urge everyone who is a parent and supports what the teachers are doing to say so. We don’t all believe the Daily Mail hype and I think it would be good for teachers' morale if we said so. x


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PostPosted: Fri Oct 18, 2013 4:20 pm 
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Too much time on my hands
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I've got 4 more years of teaching - til my daughter leaves school then I'm off. I've taught in the same school for 20 years and feel more and more that the politicians know and care very little for the education system. The changes that are being introduced on practically a weekly basis are both ineffectual and costly. The 'senior' teachers - ie the ones that do very little teaching - are on our backs to meet ridiculous targets - mine is 88% a* - c next year - so if one child has a bad day I'll be getting bollocked as to what I've done wrong. Some ( not all ) parents expect silk purses out of sow's ears, and the kids expect you to spoon feed them- if I could win the premium bonds I would be off like a shot. Perhaps that's just a Friday rant as I'm absolutely knackered!


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PostPosted: Fri Oct 18, 2013 5:39 pm 
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Too much time on my hands

Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2011 9:03 pm
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I really can't add anything because it has all been said so eloquently. Some research is being done at University about why teacher retention is so poor. So many teachers drop out within the first five years of teaching. I really don't think it needs any research to find out why - it is absolutely obvious. The saddest thing is that these unreachable, constantly moving targets will lead to schools behaving fraudulently to try and show they are achieving the unachievable. What is that teaching kids about morals and values? To all the school teachers out there (I was one once) I salute you and support you!

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PostPosted: Sat Oct 19, 2013 10:30 pm 
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Hawleytastic!
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My Em (she's 10) wrote this in support of her frazzled teacher mum. Go Emily!

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PostPosted: Sun Oct 20, 2013 12:23 am 
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Hawleytastic!
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That's brilliant :)

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PostPosted: Sun Oct 20, 2013 8:05 am 
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My sister is a teacher,we all went out for a very rare full monty family gathering last night for me Mum's 70th and she told me the full story of the weight she and her colleagues have to bear,it beggars belief,it would drive me over the edge......more strikes I say

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