Today there is a strike going on across England. Two of the
largest teachers unions in England organized this strike and many teachers are
participating in it. This is the second time this year that teachers from these
unions have walked out, and there is a third scheduled. Many people in England
don’t agree with teachers walking out do to pay and working conditions but when
a poll was conducted according to The Guardian.com/education, 15% of the public
believed that teachers should be getting paid more. In England they are also striking because the
government there just like ours is trying to push teachers being paid according
to the performance in their classroom.
I found this article very interesting due to the fact that
we have focused mostly on the education system in the united states but it is
really all over he world that teachers are not getting the pay or conditions
they deserve. Andrea Hamilton posted
about an article on our blog talking about the fact that in 8 states people on
welfare get paid more then teachers. I
don’t think this is true when it comes to England but it just shows the level
of respect that teachers are getting. Why wouldn’t teachers rebel against our
government system that is feeding into the fact that teachers are not important
enough to get higher salaries?
Audrey,
ReplyDeleteI found your post very interesting, in the fact that teachers are standing up for themselves and pushing towards what they think is fair. While I understand where some people are coming from feeling that teachers need to be there for the children. I think they have to understand too that it is their job. While teachers are there for the children if they aren't being treated fairly then they have the right to stick up for themselves. Teachers do care about the children and don't want them to fall behind but they also care about having a job that makes them a decent amount of money because that is what they are living off of. It is a tricky situation.
I think this is something that many of us may one day experience first hand. It reminds me of the teacher strike in Ohio last spring. There was some back lash because the students were being effected by the strike. While students are our priority, teaching will also be our sole source of income. For the emphasis the country puts on academic/intellectual success, there doesn't seem to be an equivocal interest in catering to the teachers working toward this goal. If there were more investments made in the educational system, I'd be curious if there would be a correlation in the system improving.
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