Teacher strike leaves parents struggling to juggle childcare

March 16, 2023

Some are worried about the ongoing effects on their children’s education. (Source: 1News)

Today’s teacher's strike meant parents were left to juggle childcare once again.

The number of days students have been out of class has a number of them concerned about the ongoing effects on their children’s education.

The DANCE 24/7 dance academy ran special sessions today, helping to lighten the load for parents caught out by the strike.

Donny Waters, who works at the academy, told 1News it was all about alleviating stress.

“I have three kids. When I was working, things like this always stopped you in your tracks,” Waters said.

“You've got to figure out whose going to stop work, whose going to pick them up.

“Extended family or friends able to jump in? Can you all pull together to make something happen? So we wanted to take one little bit of stress.”

The school year was already interrupted by flooding in January and Cyclone Gabrielle last month.

“At the moment, it's been a little bit harder on my daughter to get back into the routine of going to school, especially at college now, so that's been a lot of pressure on her,” one parent said.

“She's pretty much not interested in school now. My partner, she's a teacher aid; she's at school at the moment, helping out.”

Older students are worried that the lack of time in the classroom will affect their future.

“If they were ongoing, I definitely think it would be quite challenging actually for everyone, especially for senior students. It's very much internal season toward the end of the term, so if it carried on, it would be pretty disruptive,” one student told 1News.

“We're getting cramped in all our work, so we're not learning in a sufficient amount of time,” another said.

However, not all schools are closed - one Wellington Kura Kaupapa stayed open for 45 students.

The principal, Rawiri Wright, said his teachers need more support.

“One of the most significant ones is working with high-quality Māori resources.

“There are still no senior secondary school textbooks in any subject in te reo Māori meaning that our kaiako are having to create their own resources as they are going along. It's been that way for 38 years now. It's not good enough.”

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