Francesca Rudkin: If there was ever a time we took a people-first attitude, surely it's children's education

The New Zealand Educational Institute’s primary teachers negotiating team gave it one more whirl on Tuesday to come to an agreement with the Ministry of Education.

The Union President Mark Potter said conversations were worthwhile, that the Government and Ministry are better at understanding the issues that need to be addressed, but the Ministry did not make an official offer.

So today, many primary school teachers, along with kindergarten and secondary school teachers who are represented by the PPTA are on strike across the country as they demand salary offers which meet inflation and conditions that encourage educators to stay in the industry.

If you have kindy, primary or intermediate aged children – and a job, let’s be honest no matter how much you respect teachers, it’s inconvenient.

If you have older children at high school, they can generally look after themselves, although if our household is anything to go by, there is quite a bit of pressure to get NCEA internals complete at the moment, so a day away from teachers for senior students isn’t ideal either.

There have been different messages coming through from union reps and teachers over the last few weeks. Some have said, it’s not about the money, it’s about the conditions.

Others have been frank about the impact the rising cost of living is having on them, and the need for better pay. I completely understand the call for new teachers to be paid better - earning a $1.99 above minimum wage as of 1st April isn't going to encourage someone into a life of teaching.

But let's not forget that a pay increase in line with inflation is inflationary - and not what the country needs right now even if it does sound like a fair thing to do.

So at the end of the day – it is always about pay to some extent. No one ventures into a contract negotiation without discussing pay – the one tangible reward that makes people feel valued and appreciated.

While the question of pay is always on the table, I can understand the minimising of it. The public are aware that the teachers only three years ago negotiated what was a much needed pay increase, but not everyone is getting a pay rise just because life has become more expensive. Apparently 35 percent of New Zealanders have not had pay rises over the last year.

So striking for pay at the moment, when already this year, some children have missed school due to floods, cyclones, and union meetings isn’t going to garner the same sympathy as it has before. We’ve even had a teacher’s only day thrown in too… the cynic in me wonders whether the organisers are aware of the bad timing of this strike and are using it to force the Government’s hand.

However, I do think teachers have a point when it comes to talking about the school system in general: the conditions, the structure of our classrooms and a lack of resources. A system, which from my experience puts budget before the welfare of children.

If you listen to teachers, and many have come forward to articulate well what their concerns are, it’s about classroom numbers, it's about having an appropriate amount of planning time, the lack of teachers, it’s about having the skills and resources to teach a range of children with various neuro diversity, and learning difficulties, it’s about learning how to deal with and teach children with mental health or domestic issues which come to play in the classroom.

It’s about resources and time; that is what a lot of teachers are bringing to the fore.

The time and resources to do their job well and therefore be encouraged to stay in the job. And it's hard to argue against that - as it benefits all our children.  

I have seen first-hand schools decide to move to modern learning environments, whereby two teachers are responsible for 55 kids. This was a decision made by the school - to make the most of the Ministry's funding system.

I’ve seen the impact on both teachers and students - and it was loud and chaotic and not pretty.

I’ve been told there are red flags in one of my child’s learning, and yet the school wouldn’t test any further to reveal if there is an issue there because those red flags weren’t big enough, and even if an issue was detected, the school didn’t have the capacity to offer any extra help.

Turns out there was a quite a big issue, and the person affected the most by no one picking it up, was the child.  

We know the value and importance of education, but we don't budget like we do. If there was ever a time we took a people-first attitude - surely it's children's education.

It's time to stop educating on the cheap.

I don't want teachers out of the classroom today. But if they can drive a broader change towards how we improve our education system, it might just be worth the pain for all of us.

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