To all my colleagues or are braver and more principled than I am,
Thank you for standing up for my pension. I am not striking because I never got around to joining a union and my school is open. I tend not to think about what I'm earning or how much money I'll have when I retire. I probably should and as such I am grateful to all those who think about it for me and are prepared to take this action.
Will it make any difference? Who knows. Francis Maude said on the Andrew Marr show that the deal was, 'as good as it gets' and so that sounds to me like there is no room for negotiation. A strike is a resort of last measure. No one wants to make themselves unpopular or lose a day's pay but those who are taking action today are thinking of the future and the greater good.
It makes me furious when all government ministers can talk about is how unfair school strikes are. They complain that people will have to make expensive childcare arrangements. Surely, the point of schools is more than childcare and as such should be valued higher than babysitting?
From a very selfish point of view I am really looking forward to today. It won't be a normal day. Teachers won't be struggling to fit in everything they are prescribed to do by government and so I might just be able to have the choir for long enough so they can learn the songs for the concerts we have to do at the end of the week.
Teachers who are striking should have a good rest today and not feel guilty. I, for one, am grateful that they are prepared to take a stand.
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