Zizi Sparks: Teachers’ strike sends message to put teachers first so they can put kids first

Rotorua teachers striking in 2020. Photo / Ben Fraser

OPINION:

On Thursday morning, 50,000 teachers, principals and other education union members around the country will walk off the job.

Parents and caregivers will be left to find ways to balance childcare and work. Some will struggle, and the effects will be widespread.

But the gravity of the situation warrants the reaction.

A teacher friend recently told me it felt like teachers made as many decisions in a moment as a surgeon undertaking life-saving surgery.

In a classroom with two teachers supervising 60 students - many with higher needs - at any point, they may be required to choose between the child who needs learning support, the child having a breakdown and the children bickering.

The strike this Thursday will send a loud and clear message that teachers shouldn’t have to choose.

Last week, the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA), covering secondary and area school teachers, and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI), covering primary and kindergarten teachers, made the decision to strike for better pay, higher staffing numbers and more school funding.

One parent spoke out about the strike last week, saying she believes striking is not putting the needs of students first.

“Where are our rights as parents to say no to teacher strikes? Only a few years ago did they get very substantial increases, which was due, but perhaps we should put the needs of our children first. They need education,” she says.

The parent, who spoke anonymously, says Covid and weather-related closures have led to disruption and the loss of “valuable teaching time” and a strike will do the same.

It is true Covid and the weather have been disruptions, but people need to see the bigger picture.

Striking is putting students first because when teachers advocate for themselves, they advocate for students.

Yes, they are asking for more pay, but they are also asking for more staff and more funding for the students.

Post-primary teachers specifically want salaries increased to match inflation. They also want more guidance staff to work with increasing numbers of rangatahi struggling with mental health and societal issues, and effective controls on workloads.

NZEI wants the Government to increase staffing and funding to schools and kindergartens so that teachers can better meet the needs of children, and to improve current pay offers in order to attract and retain people in the teaching profession.

Achieving this will only positively impact classrooms and students.

Besides their parents, children probably spend more time with a teacher than any other adults.

Children spend six-plus hours a day at schools, in classrooms.

I believe teaching is among the most essential professions around. Teachers form young minds and guide them from a young age - in some cases from as young as six months old all the way up to 18 years old.

Teachers are forming the future, and we should value them.

They shouldn’t have to choose between a child needing more support and a child who keeps to themselves and gets things done with no fuss.

So when union members walk off the job this week, support them, because they support thousands of students around the country and only have young people’s best interests at heart.