Not the time to strike

The Editor, Sir:

I know many of my colleagues ought to be paid their retroactive money; however, this is not the time to strike for it.

I am a grade-four teacher who has a group of students from communities such as Salt Spring, Glendevon, Norwood, Green Pond, etc, whose parents send them to school for varying reasons such as - just to stay in a safe place for the day while they go run their errands; just because their parents cannot handle the 'talking' any longer, and the very few who send them to learn.

With students from the above-mentioned communities, if the gunmen were to 'sneeze', they would catch 'flu', hence they would not come to school. I have a set of students who come to school maybe once per month, some twice per month, and others whose absenteeism challenges the number of days in the year.

With a set of students such as mine, I cannot support the strike at this time. When I go to school on Wednesday to Friday, my slower set of students will not turn up; and, when it's time for exams, the set that does not attend school on a regular basis turns out and the set that attends consistently does not. Coupled with these is the fact that many of my students are indeed mentally challenged, while others are troubled with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Some are on the hyperactivity impulsivity side, and others show attention deficit only.

Those who cannot be classified under these groups have to be placed under 'the unstructured homes of inappropriate and unsupportive parents' - many of whom wanted the 'sex' and to be 'splurged on' and not the resulted child/children that they now have.

Given these challenges that I face in the classroom, I am anticipating very poor performances from my class in the upcoming Grade Four literacy and numeracy examinations.

I would want to plead to the JTA to think of us - the grade-four and three teachers while they think about a way to force the Government's hand. How about leaving school one or two hours earlier as opposed to a full strike where we would miss 16 contact hours?

Please teachers, let us not give the Government one more reason to blame us for their, the parents' and the students' sins.

I am, etc.,

GARETH TAYLOR

kunteblackert@yahoo.com

Montego Bay

St James