Teachers' strike

Today, my second child is off school. His teacher is striking. No other teachers in that school are striking though which has made that particular class very unpopular, and #1 child was pretty furious at the injustice of it all!

I'm in a funny situation, as a teacher who is a member of the NUT, I would absolutely be joining the strike action today if I wasn't on maternity leave. I fully support #2's teacher in his decision to strike and I hope that it will make an impression on Mr Gove et al.

However, I feel guilty that I am pleased my eldest child's teacher ISN'T striking. She is in year 6, the most important year of her school life so far, and is a few weeks away from taking her SATs. While I don't agree with the way 10 and 11 year olds are put under such pressure in order to meet targets, I am well aware that her results will influence her secondary education. For that reason alone, this school day is really precious to her. She knows she has to grasp every learning opportunity.

Is this hypocritical? Probably. But, as a parent, it has made me appreciate what teachers do even more. I'm sure parents across the country with children who are in critical years of their education feel the same, as well as the parents who are inconvenienced by having to find childcare for the day or take annual leave.

How will it affect the people who govern our country though? Yes, they'll see we're not happy (although I'm sure they are well aware) but it's doubtful they will personally feel the effects. It all seems a bit futile now. I only started my teaching career five years ago, but it has been peppered with strike action, suffered major upheaval at the hands of Gove and the constant threat of Ofsted has affected everyone, children included.

I don't know what the future holds for the teaching profession, but I certainly can't see things changing soon. This makes me feel sad, not only for schools and their staff, but most of all for the children, the "learners", who will suffer the effects far more than we can realise now.

As for those striking, it's a pretty good bet that many will spend the day trying to make a dent in their "to do" list.