Teachers are striking?? From students’ perspectives

Teachers are striking tomorrow with the hope of getting attention from the government. We need action. High inflation rates post-covid resulted in the cost of living crisis which continues to push working families towards suffering. 

You might think that over the past year there have been increases in salary. However, these aren’t enough when compared to the very high rate of inflation. Moreover, these increases haven’t come from government funds but instead from school budgets. So who is disadvantaged at the the end of this long chain of political dispute? When school budgets are spread so thinly, the learning environment is distrupted. Students face the effects: tired teachers and a tense atmosphere. This is why impactful steps from the government are required. 

‘I believe that improving working conditions by decreasing work load is the best way forward. Teachers aren’t asking for millions of pounds. Their requests for change are realistic and necessary. If a few days of distrupted learning will be able to improve the school environment for the better, then I think its worth it.’ – says one student from Parmiter’s School Watford.

Most students are fully in support of the strikes. They collectively agree that teachers deserve better conditions. This positive change will extend to everyone in the education system.

Iman Mansoor  (year 12) says ‘Personally, I think it’s really good that all teachers are uniting across the country to strike in order for higher pays, that they deserve and work hard for. Even though there is a concern over students’ education, I think it’s vital for the rights of teachers and we need to look at the bigger picture.’

At Parmiter’s School, the headmaster and senior leadership team have decided to have remote learning for some year groups, while year 7 and 11 continue as normal. Teachers who don’t strike will engage in remote learning to minimise distruption to education. Headmaster, Mr Jones, had decided to assess the situation on the morning of the strike before creating a plan for how the day will go for students that are still in school.

More than 100,000 could strike, the National Education Union has said – along with university staff, civil servants, train and bus drivers. The bigger the impact, the bigger the change.