Teachers warn of summer strike action

“The trouble with teaching and parenting these days is that children have been given too much "power" and discipline has just about disappeared for fear of retribution. A well-placed slap on the back of the leg never did me or my kids any long-term damage and I know the cane sitting in the corner of the classroom was enough deterrent for many! Not that I condone unnecessary violence but a short sharp slap can work wonders and we see many instances daily in supermarkets where one might have the desired effect. Parents take the line of least resistance and thus send kids to school with no behaviour boundaries for the teachers to build on. We have the society we deserve and a generation of children who know no boundaries thanks (ironically) to the "Nanny State" we now live in!”

“Joning..... might want to ask one of your teacher friends about this...... ""Why is always got to come down to political dogma?"" :)

A tough job, yes, but not the job it used to be with teachers commanding no respect and having very little control or authority over their pupils. Discipline is non-existent now in schools and homes which is why so many kids have no respect for anything or anyone. Personally I am glad I went to school years ago when those boundaries were in place (with support in the home from parents) that gave you social values instead of teacher having to be a friend!”

“All the teachers I know bar one voted Lib Dem, I think Trotskyite teachers are a bit of a 70's myth. Still, if you're unhappy with your pay, pension or working conditions you have a right to withdraw your labour and strike. This is democracy. (despite the attempts by all governments of the last 30 years attempting to remove those rights from the populace).

It's a tough job, increasingly so and I don't believe the vast majority who choose that vocation are anything but wholly committed to educating children.”

“Well, I will try to add a comment, having been locked out earlier. My late wife, who was a PE teacher from 1969 until 1998, spent most weekends taking pupils to sporting events around the region. She always maintained that most teachers were not interested in the children in their care, but only in their own careers. I am not convinced that anything has changed, given the comments from the teachers' unions now.”

“The website seems to be down. I can't add comments.”

“Former member of Militant Tendency and National Socialist Alliance. Benefited from a grammar school education herself but wants to deny anybody else the privilege, so standard lefty hypocrite.

So yes, Joning, you are quite right, why does it always have to come down to political dogma?”

“Even if your spurious and sweeping generalisation was true, which I very much doubt as you have not personally spoken to every teacher in Britain, what's that got to do with teachers wanting better working conditions? Why is always got to come down to political dogma?”

“If you talk to these friends of yours you will almost certainly discover that the vast majority of them regard Christine Blower as a toytown Trotskie and a total embarrassment.”

“A few friends of mine are teachers and none of them have six week summer holidays; the kids do. You're also forgetting that they are restricted to only having time off in holidays not potentially any day of the year like myself or you perhaps. This added to the long hours, buckling workload and arbitrary targets doesn't make for the cushy number you're implying. But not much of what you have to say is grounded in reality anyway so...”

“Will these strikes coincide with their six week summer holidays?”