Confused To strike or not to strike...

[cHodAX]

I am, There are alot of benefits.

Costco membership for a start!

 

[Edmond]

Costco membership for a start!

Nah, she wont pay the membership fee, she waits till i go and gives me a list

 

[Gumbo]

Wow Gumbo -i'd like a job at your friends school -mind you this is only my second year. Different schools must expect different things.

I had a career in the city as a HR Manager for London and the SE and it was a doddle compared to what I do now!

Exactly, mind you this is only your second year. You said it yourself. Before very long you'll get the hang of what you have to do vs what you think you have to do. You will evolve systems which suit your style of working, you'll be able to modify work that you've already done to suit, rather than do it from scratch.

It gets easier, and don't forget the large pay scale increases that you get for just remaining a teacher for the first few years.

I know you don't get all 13 weeks off, but if, after your first 2 or 3 years you don't get a good clear 10 weeks, then you're doing it wrong. Don't forget also, that apart from the odd extra curricular things, you don't have to work weekends, and you get all bank holidays off too. That's a situation which in more and more industries you have to sacrifice.

Ultimately I suppose though, if you think you're dead hard done by, you could always find another job, in the same way that if I thought it was so cushy, why aren't I a teacher?

 

[Scouse]

privae sector has had its pensions etc raped over the last 10 years about time the public sector did tbh

Mwwwwaaahhh!! My poor person's pension is shit so I want other poor people to have shit pensions!!!! Mwaaaaaaaah!


Protest against capitalism? No way! I like the fact there's rich people...




Tit.

 

[kiliarien]

Yup, and don't get saddled so much with lesson planning and marking.

I've got 2 very good friends who are teachers, one at a primary and one secondary school teaching ICT and Sciences.

They both say that the first couple of years are pretty hard, whilst you're learning the ropes, but after that it's an absolute breeze. Both had 'proper' jobs, before choosing teaching as a career, so have some experience of private sector conditions and wouldn't go back.

They'll both vote to strike, and do so, because it looks like they won't get what was promised to them when they signed up, but both, when speaking candidly, say that they know they're on a gravy train which can't go on forever.

In the meantime, the primary teacher enjoys the decent pay and long holidays together with generous maternity allowance every time she sprogs again. The secondary teacher is likely to be the new head of department in September at his current school, and is looking forward to moving up through deputy and then head where the really big bucks come in. Apparently his 'real world' experience helps him jump the queue for the more management roles available to teachers.

Supply teachers are as a rule on either single or temporary contracts. It's another teaching myth that supply teachers get more than contracted teachers, especially if they're agency-placed. The wage for a supply teacher is about 15-20% less than one in the job, sometimes 30% less with agency fees. That's the economic climate and has been for three years.

Exactly, mind you this is only your second year. You said it yourself. Before very long you'll get the hang of what you have to do vs what you think you have to do. You will evolve systems which suit your style of working, you'll be able to modify work that you've already done to suit, rather than do it from scratch.

It gets easier, and don't forget the large pay scale increases that you get for just remaining a teacher for the first few years.

I know you don't get all 13 weeks off, but if, after your first 2 or 3 years you don't get a good clear 10 weeks, then you're doing it wrong. Don't forget also, that apart from the odd extra curricular things, you don't have to work weekends, and you get all bank holidays off too. That's a situation which in more and more industries you have to sacrifice.

Ultimately I suppose though, if you think you're dead hard done by, you could always find another job, in the same way that if I thought it was so cushy, why aren't I a teacher?

Gumbo, I'm glad you added the last sentence to your last post. It has sense to it. Unfortunately the rest you've written is imho somewhat misguided.

I taught for 9 years at secondary level, 4 years as a Head of Department at a school rated Outstanding by Ofsted and in the top 3% of schools nationally for 4 years running (and was still like that when I left.) I've also trained 14 teachers into successful careers. A 'clear 10 weeks' as a teacher is someone not doing their job. It is considered under current guidelines, although of schools may make their own policy and it varies by subject, that a lesson's work from pupils will create 150% of time for a teacher to mark. Do the maths and you'll find that a 7 hour contact day becomes 10.5 in MARKING ALONE as you must include current NC levels and targets for improvements as well as general correct/incorrect marking. On top of that add performance management, department self-evaluation, department development plans, field trip organisation (for me, I'm a Geographer), school staff meetings, department staff meetings, representative meetings for Additional Educational Needs, ICT, Numeracy, Literacy, Assessment for Learning, Gifted & Talented and any other hair brained scheme the govt comes up with to make us jump through hoops to imply they've improved education. I could continue that list.

Most decent teachers out there do 9 hour days, HoDs etc. even more, like 10-11. And then do a day at the weekends. Good luck to your mate who might be HoD soon but if he thinks he'll breeze up the chain without working, he's seriously deluded - if I were you I'd question yourself whether he's 'bigging himself up' to you; also if the school hasn't already confirmed their HoD of a core subject by now, I'd question how good the management of the school is unless it was an unforeseen circumstance.

I'd also argue about it 'getting easier.' Yes, once you've put together a lot of resources it's less of a pain, but GCSE and A-Levels have both been re-released, one 2 years ago, the other just last year (academically speaking) and so you have to re-do all that to tailor to the new specifications, or in a lot of cases changing specifications.

I speak from experience from the other end in terms of suppyl too as I took the plunge and moved to Wales jobless to be nearer my wife's family. Since then I've worked in an independent school teaching kids in social services care and found this sector to be a joke in terms of education standards, and recently on a temporary contract covering maternity. As with a lot of temp contracts I won't be paid for the summer. 6 weeks unpaid leave ISN'T a holiday, it's enforced unemployment.

If you decide to take on another job in those phantom 10 weeks you think we have (I will admit they're still nice, but I'd put it nearer 7) you get taxed to bollocks as a second profession. The only tax break is if you exam mark which is a right grind but it is worth it.

The gravy train stopped a while ago. The 6-year increases are still there but if you compare it to the workload of other public services on the same management banding (which they are beginning to align) teachers are still worse off. It's all swings and roundabouts in a way because we all look to greener pastures where they might not exist, but to suggest modern day teaching is a breeze isn't a fair reflection.

Don't get me wrong, I still love it because no day is the same and I only ever look at my watch to time lessons, never to wish my life away wishing I could go home 2 minutes after walking through the door.

And good luck with it Gwadien!!

 

[cHodAX]

Nah, she wont pay the membership fee, she waits till i go and gives me a list

Careful with her money, my kind of woman.

 

[Bugz]

Must spread rep - sorry Kiliarien

 

[Embattle]

My hope is that the government actually makes good on its warning about Unions should they cause lots of trouble over this issue.

 

[russell]

Must spread the rep too Kiliarien. Your response was G&T as opposed to my SENS

 

[kiliarien]

Hehe nice metaphor russ. Though maybe mine was SENS with the typos

And cheers for the hat tipping too Bugz, how are things going at Uni??