Class Room Assistants Strike

[Puckoon]

What is it that classroom assistants actually do? I never had the luxury of one. We had a couple of ladies who helped out in the science dept for experiments and so on, but at primary school we had one teacher from P1-3, and one from P4-7. Both had major pyschological issues, but they managed to give us all an excellent education.

[Donagh]

I did a bit of secondary school teaching before I got a real job and the whole thing is a big scam. Teachers working to 9pm marking homework my hole. Most of them, if they actually do mark children's work, will do it during free periods or throw on a video and do it in the class. Stress? Don't make me laugh - £30k-£35k for working 9-3.30 for half a year in a nice warm classroom, overseeing classroom assistants teaching the children, aye that's the most stressful job ever...

[ONeill]

I agree with Donagh. I even hire someone to cut my lawn.

[screenexile]

What is it that classroom assistants actually do? I never had the luxury of one. We had a couple of ladies who helped out in the science dept for experiments and so on, but at primary school we had one teacher from P1-3, and one from P4-7. Both had major pyschological issues, but they managed to give us all an excellent education.

There seems to be some confusion to the normal person as to what exactly a classrom assistant does whereby people think just help the weaker kids in the classroom.

More and more classroom assistants are assigned to help children with learning disabilities or children with special educational needs. Sure they will give help to the other kids if they ask but it would not be their main role.

Classroom assistants tend to assist kids with dyslexia, asperger's, autism or EBD. It is not practical when you are teaching a class of up to 30 kids and they are all at different levels and then you have one or 2 kids who neesd special attention. Classroom assistants are invaluable in helping teachers and I think they deserve some sort of recognition from the Govt. on this!

[saffron sam2]

I used to be a worker.  For years I toiled away at a variety of jobs until one sunny afternoon in late June when I went for a few pints at the Cutters Wharf.  It was hiving with teachers, celebrating the start of their two months holidays.  I thought to myself "Feck this for a game of cards! No more work for saffron sam! I'm off to be a teacher."

Fourteen months later I enter a school for the first time as a fully fledged teacher and in my experience since then, I can only agree with pint and Donagh.  Whilst, there is no doubt that a very small minority of teachers are extremely dedicated and hard-working individuals, concerned only with the well-being of the children in their care, the vast majority are obvious free-loading, lazy people. Myself included.

People who hide behind excuses like dealing with children who are exposed to drink, drugs, smoking, solvent abuse, teenage pregnancies, homosexuality, bullying, cyber bullying, joy riding, broken homes,  and so on.  Children quite simply aren't exposed to such things; it is clearly part of a conspiracy by harbingers of doom. Even if any children were exposed to such things (on a very limited scale obviously), they can clearly leave these at the school gates.

Likewise with all these new fangled diseases and 'syndromes'. Things like ADHD, ADD, Asberger's syndrome, Anaphylaxis, Stephens Johnson syndrome, dyslexia, dyscalculia, Osgood-Slatters and so on.  They exist only as part of a multi-million pound conspiracy to produce resources and medicines.  Even if they were real, they certainly would have no effect on the sufferer's ability to study. Fire a class room assistant in and they'll cover all the bases.

I get a classroom assistant in to teach my classes for a good bit of the week, well for exactly 8.0% of the time.  A class of 18 year 12 students, who if their predecessors are anything to go by will not achieve a single GCSE. A class that includes members of the traveling community (that's knackers to you, Donagh), pupils in residential care, one student expelled from another school because he tried to burn it down. I could clear off and prepare lessons or mark work during this time, but I don't need to – I will explain later.  Instead I will go for a smoke.  Or a dump. Or if it's raining or cold, both.  Meanwhile, the assistant is teaching the pupils about the intricacies of the apostrophe.

I don't need to prepare lessons, because over the past eight years our department has only introduced one new course per year and I have found that I can cunningly reuse the same resources.  That's right, even if the content of the course changes or there are different levels (GCSE, GNVQ, AVCE or A Level) I just reuse the same stuff. Come to think of it, I didn't create the resources in the first place – I got them off someone else in the department, who in turn probably got them off someone else and so on until you realize no-one actually created any resources in the first place.

I don't need to mark any coursework, because the 200 odd pieces of coursework I am responsible for actually mark themselves, give themselves back to the students with informed comment and remark themselves once they are resubmitted. All within the examination board's deadlines.  Likewise the seven forms I should be completing for each student unsurprisingly complete themselves. Any mistakes that may be made are fully understood by my head of department, senior management and parents / step parents / guardians alike who quite rightly blame the self-marking policy adopted by all exam boards.

If I want to organize an educational trip, regardless of duration, I only have to fill in 4 forms and obtain the blessing of the school board of governors and the local education and library board. At all times the supporting and deeply moving words of our school solicitor ring in my ears – "I would not advise a teacher to take a single pupil a single step outside the front gate".

And as I have said before regardless of the circumstances of the job, regardless of anything, I am safe in the knowledge that I will always have the full support of the board of governors, my employers, the inspectorate, the parents / guardians etc.

Still only four weeks to Halloween and a week off.  Will you need your grass cut ONeill?

[ONeill]

Saffron Sam

A Modest Proposal - "intentionally grotesque logic"

[saffron sam2]

You shouldn't be teaching.

What could you possibly mean?

[saffron sam2]

You are clearly incorrect. I hate having to explain satire. Did ONeill teach you?

[pintsofguinness]

Once again we see it's true, teaching attracts those with superiority complexes.

[pintsofguinness]

Has anyone ever called you a cynic pints?

Yeah, I'd get that a lot.

[Donagh]

So Sam you do all this crap teaching, for precisely how many hours a day, for hour many days a year, for exactly how much pay? My heart bleeds. I think I know that kid who tried to burn the school down. Took him on as an apprentice welder to try and teach him useful skills but his lack of basic numeracy is proving somewhat of an impediment.

[Sky Blue]

I read in the paper last night that this strike is still going on. How long have they been out now? Are they getting any publicity or public support or have they just been forgotten about?

[Guillem2]

They have been out for 3 days this week and are suppose to be going all out from Monday.
Additional money was made available by the Minister for Education but one of the Unions rejected it. There also appears to be a split between the 3 unions representing the assistants. Only NIPSA members are on strike - GMB and Unison are not. There was an advert in the Irish News yesterday for Unison members explaining the latest offer and basically telling them they will get nothing more by striking.
What happens if 2 unions accept the offer and 1 doesn't? Are NIPSA right and the other 2 wrong on this issue?
I was out on strike for 3 weeks once many years ago. It takes a long time to get the pay back you lose on the strike.