So Peter Evans says: ‘And to suggest that if teachers don't like it, they can always work somewhere else, doesn't really help sustain our children's education.’Well, I’ve got two kids who are both at school. Their education was disrupted by Covid lockdowns, with the support from their respective schools almost zero during the first one. It was left to parents to pick up the slack there. Some teachers I know of had a very easy time of it that year. Luckily my two are bright enough not to be left behind but there are plenty of kids who have suffered.Having a series of strikes doesn’t help sustain education for those currently in it, does it? We are told all the time that missing school days results in poor academic performance. Parents are harangued for absences, however legitimate, and the kids are left to pick up the work they miss. Yet you say it’s fine for kids to not be taught because he teachers need more pay?Perhaps they should have performance related pay. That might end the habits such as the geography teacher (who was really a sports master) at one local school who spent every lesson listening to a radio while reading his paper or book with his feet on the desk, having told the 11 and 12 year olds to ‘do their own reading’. Not a great role model.I know several former teachers who moved into other sectors after a few years. They either followed their passions, such as music, or simply followed the money and went into lucrative careers like banking. They are educated and employable.Teaching might be a public sector job but it’s not comparable to nursing. There aren’t shifts to do. They get decent holidays and, as has been repeated already, good pensions. The fact that they can take the financial hit from a series of strike days doesn’t hint at people on the breadline.Perhaps there needs to be a bit of compromise from the NEU over its demands.
Simon Hayes ● 467d