'Parents support strikes, kids deserve to be taught by teachers who feel valued'

01 February 2023 , 18:29

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Despite the major inconvenience, pretty much all of the parents were on the side of the teachers. Because as challenging as it is when schools are closed, we all appreciate the great work they do in classrooms across the country (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

My heart sank when I received the dreaded email from my son’s ­primary school informing parents it would be shut today because of the teachers’ strike.

Children would, they said, be sent homework to do at home. Oh gosh, it was a return to the pain of homeschooling without PE from Joe Wicks to put a smile on our faces.

The parents WhatsApp group – usually reserved for messages about missing jumpers and the weekly spelling list – sprang into life.

Parents who couldn’t work from home were panicking about childcare, those of us who could work from home worried about how we’d even be able to get any work done, and how we’d feed our kids’ insatiable demand for snacks.

But despite the major inconvenience, pretty much all of the parents were on the side of the teachers.

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Because as challenging as it is when schools are closed, we all appreciate the great work they do in classrooms across the country. Day one of lockdown had me calling for teachers to be paid more when I realised how much they had to contend with during the day.

Teaching is a passion for many who do it for the love of the job, but that doesn’t mean they should be paid any less.

Yesterday was the first of seven strikes expected to go ahead in England and Wales affecting 23,400 schools. Around 85% of schools were due to be fully or partially closed. Educators joined thousands of other workers on the biggest walkout in a decade with up to 500,000 downing tools.

The decision to go on strike won’t have been taken lightly. Talks stalled on Monday with teachers who have been offered a 5% pay rise which works out as a 5% pay cut due to inflation.

Children deserve to be taught by people who feel valued and motivated, not fed up, ground down and struggling to make ends meet. For their sake, all sides need to get back around the negotiating table and sort this mess out.

Eva Simpson