Claire Amos

Dear Minister Hipkins,  Too often the narrative around why we need a pay rise can become focused on how hard the job is. The act of teaching is hard, however, be assured, a career in teaching is a privilege. That said, each and every teacher in this country deserves a generous pay rise, not because it's a tough job, but because it is a bloody important and complex one.  Here are my 13 reasons why... 1) What we do is important! There is no question. Being a teacher is one of the most important roles in our community. We are not only fantastic (low-cost) caretakers and babysitters for much of the year, we are also trusted to provide young people with the knowledge and skills they need to survive and thrive, whilst also addressing community concerns and government priorities - we are miracle workers (and hence we deserve the pay to go with it. What we do is seriously important work on many levels. “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.”  ...

At the end of last week, Bernadine Oliver-Kerby published an " opinion piece ". It has prompted me to pen a letter (sorry it ain't handwritten...). Dear Bernadine, Your article started, innocently enough, by voicing a very valid concern, that I am sure would be shared by many parents - "I was simply asking why the children at school were practising handwriting while lying sprawled on the floor." Hey, I believe parents and educators absolutely should be encouraged to question what is going on in the classroom. I applaud your positioning of yourself as nothing more than inquisitive caring parent. If you had genuinely asked this question and then explored and investigated what is actually going on in Modern Learning Environments, I would be here cheering you on. But unfortunately you did not do that. Instead you followed up a seemingly caring and rational question with a whole raft of assumptions and generalisations that quite frankly do more damage than go...