A historic day for teaching unions
On Saturday 5 November I was proud to attend the ATL Special Conference. I even spoke, though I had no intentions of doing so prior to the day. This conference was to debate whether to go forward to ballot members of the ATL Union on whether ATL and NUT come together to form a new teaching union. In the words of Niamh Sweeney, not a wedding [or amalgamation] but a birth. Should the members of both ATL and NUT vote to proceed with this re-birth a "Super Union" (TES, 2016) will be formed representing 450,000 teachers. At the moment teachers are separated into smaller unions, if this goes ahead our voice, the voices ranging from the caretaker to the super head, WILL be heard.
Despite becoming quite involved with the ATL union I am not very politically minded. I do however have determination to succeed in becoming a teacher, and then find a way to stay a teacher. With 50% of teachers in the UK having under 10 years experience, and 46% of new teachers exiting the profession within 5 years I believe it is essential to be proactive. I am eagerly trying to find ways to help myself, and my peers, to remain in teaching. Involvement with unions is one such way. The people I have met through ATL Future range from a KS2 lead from Plymouth to an NQT from Carlisle, both of whom I would never have met if I had not been involved with ATL. I have also had the opportunity to attend continuing professional development which I would not have been financially able to access without involvement in union.
But what does this have to do with the teacher standards? On the surface of it, not much and I'm almost certain that the Government would not consider Union involvement as essential to good teaching standards. However, on further reflection it becomes apparent that I participate in a wider professional community in my activities with ATL. I collaborate with professionals from all over England whom I would never meet under other circumstances. We discuss approaches and current events, considering often contrasting perspectives about issues. The experience of speaking to a room of mostly experienced professionals, including Mary Bousted, is developmental for me. If I can do this, surely I will be able to speak during interviews?
And finally, it means I care! I care about colleagues, and I care about what we have to teach our children, the pressures children and teachers are put under and the quality of education for the future. I am but one voice, but we are...
Stronger together