The petition
In these times of possible recession, rising interest rates and negative equity everyone is being asked to tighten their belts and work and think more efficiently and smarter. Public services especially are being asked to achieve more results with less resources. I speak from experience in this area as I am a serving police officer and compare how the police service has deteriorated over recent years at the hands of the bureaucrats and accountants. Against this background, however, we have the teaching profession which continually self serves its very own parochial and selfish interests. What other profession can boast that its employees are paid a very competative salary (the same as myself for a teacher, me having 18 years policing experience)YET ARE ONLY EXPECTED TO WORK FOR AROUND 9 MONTHS OF THE YEAR!! The average teacher has 6 weeks summer holiday, 2 weeks Easter holiday, 3 weeks Christmas holiday etc etc !!. And yet they still moan that they are hard done to!. My wife and myself have 5 children between us and so I feel that i speak from experience in this area. The children are forever either off school or about to have another holiday. And also, lets talk about 'Teacher Training Days' ; can anyone please tell me why teachers continually arrange their training days during school time, but never have them during the countless weeks of holiday that either preceed or follow those training days?. Yet another example of the teaching profession taking yet more, and giving nothing back!. Surely the logical approach would be to have the training days in the rostered holidays, thus preventing further days off school for the important people - THE CHILDREN. And, finally, I have always wondered why and how teachers are allowed to receive a full annual salary on the basis that they only work for it for 9 months approximately. WHY DON'T THEY DO VOLUNTARY WORK OR COMMUNITY WORK DURING THEIR MASSIVE HOLIDAYS??. I would be the first to admit that the teaching profession is a vitally important one, moulding and shaping our children into the adults of the future. HOWEVER, THIS SHOULD NOT BE USED AS EMOTIONAL BLACKMAIL TO ENABLE TEACHERS TO AVOID BEING SUBJECTED TO THE RIGOURS OF COST EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY. In times of constant pressure to deliver more results with less resources the teaching profession should also be subjected to the same procedures, and should be seen to be the same as all the other comparable professions ; the health industry, policing etc. What do you think????
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