Just about that teachers' strike

“If you want to earn more, shouldn't you work one more day instead of one day not?” Voilà, the logic of an eight-year-old. In this case, from a friend of my daughter who has inherited the right approach mentality from her parents. I have little to say against it, because I'm not one for striking. No talking, just doing, that's what I've been taught from a young age. And always being a quarter of an hour earlier at work than your boss, that too. Although I can imagine that as a teacher you also feel backed against the wall, because the stretch is out, you earn what you earn and no matter how hard you try, it won't be more. Moreover, they have, besides doctors, the most important job in the world, because how nice is it to know our children are in their wise arms? So I support them. Give those people money. And quickly a bit, because before you know it, there will be no one left to teach our little brats how to extract the square root of 144.

What I experience as a mother is that their problem also becomes our problem. So besides the study days, we now suddenly have two more days thrown at us where we have to find extra care for our children. We also have a job, you should know. Moral of this short story: give those teachers what they ask for. For them, for the survival of this profession, and also a bit because more strike days are not nice for us.

May I then, once everything is arranged, ask a small question that I never, ever, ever dare to ask? Because I find it so obvious that I think: ‘I must be completely crazy and idiotic and stupid’? But why, dear teachers, why those study days? I mean: I understand why, but why during the normal work week? Don't you have 70 days off per year? Can't you schedule those study days during the holidays? Or at least tie them to the holidays and not always have them on a Tuesday and a Wednesday? And if you are going to strike again... do it on a Friday or a Monday. Then our vacation balance will finally come a tiny bit closer to yours.