Letters: Face facts, teachers

If teachers want to strike and march in protest on wage claims, then do so in their own time, says a reader.

Teachers have quickly jumped on to the salary hike bandwagon (along with most other usual suspects), which they no doubt regard as their God-given right as a pay back from Labour/Greens for election support.

Teachers, particularly the activist clique, are often regarded by many as a carping PC lot when it suits their agendas. Remember their normal working hours are around 8am-4pm daily (week days only), they get all public holidays, and on top of that they have 12 weeks' annual holidays thrown in to boot.

Tellingly, however, one reality is that under their watch the New Zealand education system and academic achievement levels have been going backwards, and they must take some responsibility for this, in tandem with successive dozy governments.

Inveigling young school kids and parents to rally in support of their wage claims has a poor look about it for teachers. Some may see these conclusions as over-generalising, but from many reports they are not far wide of the mark.

If teachers want to strike and march in protest on wage claims, then do so in their own time.

A good start, as some suggest, would be to do so during the term holidays or Christmas holidays, between December 20 and January 31, plus hold all stop work meetings outside normal school hours. I sincerely hope teachers are not being paid by Kiwi taxpayers when they are off work protesting and crying woe is me.

They might also get more support if they addressed and took on board the pressing issues with the likes of the race-based Code of Professional Responsibility and Standards for Teaching Profession (2017), with its complex ethical dilemmas, behavioural/disciplinary woes and Tiriti o Waitangi nonsense, agreed that class sizes of up to 30 pupils, which was the norm in the 1950s to 1980s, are acceptable, as most students that experienced those levels have succeeded and progressed through life okay.

Common sense would also go a long way towards providing good outcomes.

If teachers are serious about improving conditions, just have a good hard look at themselves, accept some home truths, face up to the real facts, and work with Kiwis to address them. With tunnel vision current mindsets teachers can cause more trouble for the rest of us than they are worth — PC agendas, preciousness and race-based inclinations are not pluses.

Presumably private school teachers are not involved in this salary/conditions bunfight.

ROB PATERSON
Matapihi