Category: News

Striking Out

I usually blog about books and TV shows, films and climate change. Today, however, I wanted to write about something a little bit more personal. My wish to take Strike Action tomorrow.

I cannot remember the last time we were driven to consider striking but this year many unions have decided to take this action due to lots of factors, including workload and pay conditions.

Why Am I Striking?

I know that in education we have seen our workload triple over the past decade. We drown in lots of unnecessary paperwork and admin. We all know that red tape has grown and bogged us down. Our work day is roughly 8:00 till 17:00 but when we come home we switch on our laptops and do another 2-3 hours of admin work every evening.

I hear people saying that teachers are lazy and have lots of holidays but the daily stress and responsibility is enormous. Many people go home from work and forget about it pretty much but we have so many things to plan, coordinate, remember and generally stress about each night and throughout the weekend.

So Why Strike?

Yes it is disruptive and no I would not normally get involved but there is plenty of evidence to show that salaries have plummeted as inflation has risen. We are literally struggling to pay our bills. I now believe strike action is required.

Source: ONS and the Times via @danielkebedeneu

We Need To Stick Together!

I was recently convinced to join the NEU strike because my own bills are increasing rapidly. Yet our pay has not risen in line with this. To add to this, we were made to work in 41 degree temperatures last summer. This was incredibly stifling without air conditioning. A difficult teaching environment.

These two facts led to me signing YES on the NEU ballot.

I feel that our profession is not respected like it used to be and our work is piling up. Teachers are leaving in droves and we are forever having to plan and cover for others as long term sickness and vacancies make us unbearably short staffed.

In A Nutshell

To me it feels like schools are driving talented people away. Other European countries pay more competitive wages and have better work-life balances. Sorry for the political rant but I just wanted to say why it is so important to me. I feel we need to take strike action to provoke change.

For a previous article about climate change, have a read of this. Please also consider following my blog for lifestyle content and book/ TV/ film reviews.

The Direct Link Between Our Actions and Climate Change

This month on ‘The Climate Change Collective’ we are discussing how climate change is impacting all of our futures. Molly from Transatlantic Notes blog has written a brilliant post about just how interrelated humans are with the environment.

In her wonderful article, Understanding how climate action redefines our future, Molly looks at how vital members of food chains are being depleted because of even small increases in temperature and just how unstable our ecosystems are.

Delicate Balance

Many people chose to ignore the threat of climate change because they cannot feel the effects of it in their daily lives. Molly outlines why that just isn’t true. Yes, the developed countries often feel it less strongly than third world nations, but the evidence of climate change is all around. One thing is for sure, it is us humans that are causing the problem.

We have seen record temperatures during the summer and winters which are far less cold than previously. Increased wild fires during heatwaves, water shortages, poor harvests and more flood occurrences are just a few of the effects we have felt in the UK and USA.

I urge you to check out Molly’s interesting article and discover how a particular butterfly species plays a major role in keeping an ecosystem strong. Locally, I have noticed far fewer insects such as bees and wasps this year. These insects are so important as pollinators and it would be awful if they were to die out.

Check out this month’s climate post and drop Molly a comment about your thoughts on this matter.

Our Beloved Queen

Here is my tribute to Queen Elisabeth II. I hope that you enjoy my poem about ‘Our beloved queen’.

I was lucky enough to see the Queen close up when I was a teenager and was impressed by her. She has always been a shining light for our nation. Her integrity was obvious and her compassion for people and animals. Hopefully you have your own memories of her and can comment them under the poem.

It will be interesting watching the coronation of her son, Charles, as the last one was 70 years ago. The royal family represent history and tradition and are an important part of British culture. Her majesty will be sorely missed but I hope that her reign will not be forgotten.


A wondrous Queen

You’ve always been.

Such majesty

You’d always bring.

I met you once

And you shined so bright

You ruled with dignity,

Strength and plight.

So thanks for love

And leading by example

You were our monarch

Your generosity ample.

A loss we know

Your passing has brought

But we remember

The compassion you taught.

A Queen so steady

For 70 years

And now my heart

Is full of tears.

Thank you so much for reading my poem about our beloved queen. For another of my thoughtful poems, have a read of One of those days.