I have to wonder what kind of science you researching, with respect you are a bright cookie, but you need to go on strike or get yourself on benefits.
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Teachers Strike
- Thread starter Geestar
- Start date
I have to wonder what kind of science you researching, with respect you are a bright cookie, but you need to go on strike or get yourself on benefits.
Shhhhh!
With respect - that's rubbish. Office Managers earn generally between £16k and £28k. Those salaries are far far below those I posted in a previous post.
Let's turn this around - those that think teachers are under paid - what do you think they should be paid ?
EDIT - I'm worried now ! Me and [MENTION=12486]Husty[/MENTION] agree on something
Ex-Staffs Gull
New member
As an ex-teacher salaries were never great, a day teaching from 9 to 3:30 was as demanding in some ways as a full day in my current job (IT), I was a union rep, but never wanted to strike. I protested at weekwnd rallies and argued against bad policy, but didnt think withdrawing my labour would hurt my employers, just the kids.
ATFC Seagull
Aberystwyth Town FC
Right, I'm not getting dragged into this one after this, some real rubbish being talked (and not just by one side)!
Teaching is bloody rewarding, the working day flies past, you get to work with your passion (subject) and you get very nice long holidays (when they come around). You also get a decent and reliable salary.
However, you work at least 2 days a week longer during term time than an average working week (which goes some way to explaining the holidays), it is incredibly high pressure and the salary and pension is less than most graduates with equivalent training would get - especially seeing as the level of scrutiny and expectation to maintain current academic knowledge is arguably on a par with the medical profession.
Anyone who says "my auntie/neighbour/milkman's wife is a teacher who earns 38k, goes to work at 8am and is home at 4pm, and never brings any work home with them" - well, basically, your auntie/neighbour/milkman's wife probably isn't doing their job properly and deserves to be put on competency and checked up on, and I have no idea why they get paid 10 grand more than the rest of us on average.
Anyway this whole thing isn't really a tit-for-tat debate about working pay and conditions, as in reality we are talking about the service provided for every single child in the UK, and therefore the future of this country and us all. If you want decent professionals who will make good teachers and educate kids well, they need to be attracted to the profession and looked after with a decent pension at a sensible age (no-one complains that police officers retire early). Like any job, to do it properly and educate well they need to be not constantly looking over their shoulder fearing the sack due to a bad set of GCSE results. Also, education needs to be controlled and regulated by the government and kids educated by QUALIFIED teachers, which is something this government is undermining.
So I hope everyone who's had to take a day off to look after kids sees it as quality time spent and not money lost - I will be going on a demo, then spending the rest of the day marking work and giving hopefully helpful feedback to the kids I teach (despite not being paid for it today). I am not enjoying this and apologies!
Teaching is bloody rewarding, the working day flies past, you get to work with your passion (subject) and you get very nice long holidays (when they come around). You also get a decent and reliable salary.
However, you work at least 2 days a week longer during term time than an average working week (which goes some way to explaining the holidays), it is incredibly high pressure and the salary and pension is less than most graduates with equivalent training would get - especially seeing as the level of scrutiny and expectation to maintain current academic knowledge is arguably on a par with the medical profession.
Anyone who says "my auntie/neighbour/milkman's wife is a teacher who earns 38k, goes to work at 8am and is home at 4pm, and never brings any work home with them" - well, basically, your auntie/neighbour/milkman's wife probably isn't doing their job properly and deserves to be put on competency and checked up on, and I have no idea why they get paid 10 grand more than the rest of us on average.
Anyway this whole thing isn't really a tit-for-tat debate about working pay and conditions, as in reality we are talking about the service provided for every single child in the UK, and therefore the future of this country and us all. If you want decent professionals who will make good teachers and educate kids well, they need to be attracted to the profession and looked after with a decent pension at a sensible age (no-one complains that police officers retire early). Like any job, to do it properly and educate well they need to be not constantly looking over their shoulder fearing the sack due to a bad set of GCSE results. Also, education needs to be controlled and regulated by the government and kids educated by QUALIFIED teachers, which is something this government is undermining.
So I hope everyone who's had to take a day off to look after kids sees it as quality time spent and not money lost - I will be going on a demo, then spending the rest of the day marking work and giving hopefully helpful feedback to the kids I teach (despite not being paid for it today). I am not enjoying this and apologies!
How about £40k?
You want a well taught generation that will help us compete with emerging nations like the China that are going to surge way ahead of us? Let's pay for it then. A better educated workforce and society is better for us all.
Creaky
Well-known member
The pay scale for a secondary school teacher ranges from £21,804 - £31,868 over a 10 year period following a first year's probation as an NQT, (newly qualified teacher.
Most secondary school teachers have spent a minimum of four years at university, 3 years getting a degree in their chosen subject followed by a one year PGCE, post-graduate certificate of education), course.
My daughter and future son-in-law are both teachers and it never fails to surprise me the work and time they put into their jobs.
Norman Baker suck my lozenge
New member
You're in the wrong job old sport,either that or you're pony at it!
Don't get me wrong and I'm not intending to get anyone's back up. I appreciate teachers do work very hard and it's not a job I could do. But everyone wants more money and this money has to come from somewhere. Councils are having to withdraw vital services because of under-funding, so how are they supposed to pay teachers more?
But is this not because of our previous perception of a teachers workload.
We learn very quickly just how hard they work when someone close is in the profession but their prospects are generally very good and their wages seem to refelct this.
ATFC Seagull
Aberystwyth Town FC
Last comment from me - this isn't really about anyone wanting more money. It's about some very specific conditions of work, questionable methods of evaluating pay, the way the education system is being run, and pensions (which is obviously pay-related but about what's already in the pot etc).
Thanks, I think a lot of the comments on here were in response to the comments of one poster who did seem to be stating it was all about money.
I would be interested to hear more about this so don't make it your last word. I can imagine being constrained by government targets and curricula must be frustrating when you just want to teach creatively. I'm sure most people would happily support the teachers if this point was made more clearly.
I have no issue with £40k just as long as it's after a reasonable length of service and the teacher would hold some sort of responsibility such as Head of Maths. As it happens teachers can and do earn £40k.
BRIGHT ON Q
Well-known member
- Jul 5, 2003
- 9,126
Yeah lets get behind them and kick their arses back to work.
D
Deleted member 22389
Guest
How about cutting back on things like foreign aid, getting more tax from these large corporations, stop giving out benefits to people who have made zero contribution to the system, start charging people from other countries who decide to use our NHS service because it is better than their own. You see that is the difference. Teachers pay taxes, like you and me, the others don't.
Return of the Rev
Well-known member
More money than ever is put into education and support for the little people and we seem to turning out arrogant,disrespectful little urchins,short sharp shock is what they need,bring in the army,universities i've never heard the like
Czechmate
Well-known member
The only reason China is emerging is because of the cheap labour brought in from the country and material costs , other things such as design , new product and new inventions and innovation Britain will always be top of the world .
D
Deleted member 22389
Guest
More money than ever is put into education and support for the little people and we seem to turning out arrogant,disrespectful little urchins,short sharp shock is what they need,bring in the army,universities i've never heard the like
Really and guess what would happen if you did that? Teacher would lose their job and would never be able to teach again, the council would be sued costing the tax payer even more money. Kids are more powerful than teachers these days. Teachers would love more discipline, but their is one golden rule, every kid in this country no matter how disruptive or bad are entitled to an education. My dad used to tell me he got the cane, he said it used to bloody hurt and he wouldn't disrupt the teacher again. I could never see that happening in this country, too many people complaining about kids rights to make that happen. Schools decide to ban mobile phones in school, guess what happens parents complain it is wrong. Schools introduce healthy meals, at lunchtime parents are passing chips through the fence. You just can't win.
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I challenge anyone to do a month of teaching. It is a ludicrously hard job that I would fail at almost instantly. Everyone preaching about how easy they have it just demonstrates they need a good lesson in how difficult it really is if you do the job properly. There are so many armchair experts and the hoard mentality is not well thought out. If anyone had a contract and it was unilaterally changed, I would expect them to complain too. As far as I am aware it is not legal to unilaterally change a contract. It would appear that the government have done exactly that. I don't blame the teachers for striking. How else are they supposed to make their point?