The Strike is The Duty of The Educator

 The Covid-19 pandemic has had a dramatic and devastating effect on the British education system. Forced into our homes, under lock and key, we had little to do but sit with our own thoughts and somehow find the self-motivation to learn. It’s something that all British schoolchildren have had to endure by now, and it’s not to be laughed at, the lockdowns have had an unpredictably massive effect on our educational experience, and I don’t doubt I’m worse off for it. I felt the effects of the pandemic first-hand, as did my peers. 

The first lockdown was a brutal and wholly unforgiving period for me, made to hop on Zoom once a day to endure a few hours of technical difficulties. With no motivation to continue, and no sight of light at the end of the tunnel, it was so easy for me to just disconnect and dissociate from the hellish monotony my life had become. 

The second lockdown was slightly better, but it was still a vicious cycle of boredom, disappointment, and an unidentifiable emptiness deep inside. No motivation to connect with friends, no reason to study for what I once had wanted. The lack of excuses for my failure only made it worse. Bouncing between Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Google Meet, was just so exhausting. I don’t blame anyone that just gave up and didn’t bother to return to normal after we came back from the lockdown, I’m surprised I can’t count myself amongst their ranks. Even in the great equaliser of a pandemic, classism will prevail, for there is a spectre haunting Europe - the spectre of classism. 

Some pupils didn’t have laptops to attend class with. For me, non-attendance was a choice, but for others, it was not. How can it be fair that I might beat them when the GCSEs roll around? I predict that we will see an increase in class disparity when observing 2023’s GCSE grades. It is this spectre, of classism, that has made us believe that teachers are selfish for striking. How can it be that we expect teachers to work below a living wage? 

As the cost of living soars, we can’t expect our educators to remain in teaching when they can’t afford to eat - especially when this government has starved schools of funding so much so that I know multiple teachers who have had to buy their own classroom resources, out of their already meagre pay. 

Who are we to demand that teachers step down for the sake of the children? 

What would be truly terrible for children is our best and brightest leaving teaching for higher-paying jobs. You do not want that to happen, because if it does, our schools will be left with only the most incompetent staff, who teach only as a last resort. When you complain about teachers making a political stance, and how that shouldn’t affect your child’s experience, you need to take a look in the mirror. In modern Britain, the personal is political, and being able to feed yourself sure is personal. Complaining about strikes comes from a place of privilege occupied by the non-teacher, which is not a position you want to punch down from. 

Next time you berate your child’s teacher for their selfishness, for their neglect of your child, take a moment to acknowledge your position, and to acknowledge their position. Teachers are absolutely wonderful, amazing individuals and we pay them dirt. Education is nothing without teachers, which is why we need to stand by them because they deserve it.