Industrial action taken by the PPTA this year has disrupted the learning of thousands of students Photo / Michael Craig
Industrial action taken by the PPTA this year has disrupted the learning of thousands of students Photo / Michael Craig
Opinion by James Bentley
OPINION
Every teacher goes into the profession knowing what they are in for. The opportunity to work with young people and grow their learning is a responsibility that all teachers take seriously.
Teaching is at times a hard job, but it is also incredibly rewarding. Most teachers love their joband can think of nothing else they would rather do.
They also understand that in this country, as a consequence, they will have to forgo the high salaries and other perks that come with some other professions.
The industrial action taken by the PPTA this year has caused disruption to the learning of thousands of students across the country. Without doubt, there will be ramifications for many students which is deeply concerning.
These are all things that would have been weighed up by the union when it resorted to this action.
Illustration / Rod Emmerson
While some of us may disagree with their strategy, it is important we consider the context.
For too long in this country, the goodwill of our teaching profession has been taken for granted. The attitude appears to be that because teachers love their job, the trade-off is that they will have to be satisfied with lower salaries.
Teachers have largely accepted aspects of this – but there is a limit.
There are teachers in our secondary schools who studied at university for four years gaining high-quality degrees, who then decided they would fund themselves through another year of teacher training.
They arrive in schools, enthusiastic and ready to begin their teaching journey with our nation’s teenagers. They are wonderful assets to our schools and we are lucky to have them.
Currently, a number of teachers begin on an annual salary of $55,948. If we break that down to an hourly rate over a 40-hour week (believe me most teachers work far longer than 40 hours a week) that equates to $26.89 an hour. From there, they also have to contend with their student loan being deducted.
The minimum wage in this country is $22.70 an hour.
Consider that for a moment.
Our beginning teachers, with years of tertiary study and training behind them, are earning slightly more than some of their students earn in their part-time jobs.
While it is true that teacher salaries increase over the years, the ceiling is hit after seven years.
Yes, teachers do get good holidays, but what is not common knowledge is that a lot of this time is used preparing for the next term.
Additionally, in a lot of schools, teachers give up a huge amount of their weekends and evenings for music, drama, sports and cultural programmes. They volunteer for these roles because they know how much it means to their students and their communities.
Be assured that nobody disliked this strike action more than the teachers striking did. They were forced to resort to this because they are dealing with a Government that was not listening.
A Government that seems to be hoping that the crisis we are in and will continue to face will somehow evaporate, or most likely, be kicked down the road for someone else to deal with in the future.
Let me tell you what I believe that future looks like.
We have a chronic shortage of secondary teachers in this country. Each year, hundreds of brilliant teachers retire and we do not have hundreds of brilliant graduates entering the profession to take their places.
The well of overseas teachers has dried up as New Zealand’s high living costs discourage would-be immigrant teachers.
In a very short time, schools will be unable to staff themselves properly. Already, there are secondary schools in this country that are so short of teachers that they have been forced to collapse some subjects.
Students who aspire for a career that requires those subjects will now have to rethink their plans.
The haves and the have-nots we have across our country will continue to widen.
This is where we are at.
It is clear that the Government has decided to play hardball on this with secondary teachers, perhaps sensing that furious parents might not be backing the teachers this time.
This is a mistake.
James Bentley. Photo / Brett Phibbs, File
A brave Government would accept that we are in deep trouble and that if we want to live in a thriving and productive economy then it is essential we have a well-educated and skilled population.
It would accept that schools not only in central Wellington and central Auckland should thrive, but all schools across the length and breadth of the country.
Nobody liked this industrial action. They needed to end far earlier. But please don’t blame the teachers for this.
It is not them that is not listening.
- James Bentley is headmaster at St Peter’s College in Auckland.
