Striking education

I can appreciate why teachers may well encourage their pupils not to come to school whenever possible, but I was horrified that there had been no educational aspect to this day off

Jennie Rhodes

Friday, 21 March 2025, 10:15

Speaking to our 14-year-old nephew last Thursday, he told me he was relieved as an exam he thought he had on Friday wasn't going to happen until this week as students were on strike. I enquired what they were striking about. He wasn't sure but hazarded a guess that it was something to do with 8M (8 March, International Women's Day). Great! I exclaimed. So presumably you and your classmates will be going to join in the marches and other events organised by the town hall? No, he replied. I'm going to study and then meet up with my friends to play football. Deflated, I asked him if there had been any debate or classes about IWD at school. "No" was his reply. His view was that teachers encourage students to strike because it's "kind of a day off" for them but they still get paid as they're not the ones striking.

As the daughter of a retired teacher (whose only career advice to me was to never become a teacher) I can appreciate why teachers may well encourage their pupils not to come to school whenever possible, but in the spirit of holistic education, preparing pupils for life and encouraging debate, I was horrified that there had been no educational aspect to this day off.

Our nephew is not the first and will not be the last secondary school pupil I have had this conversation with. A few years ago someone had the bright idea to follow Greta Thunberg and her weekly 'Fridays for Future' protests outside the Swedish parliament. Thousands of Spanish secondary school pupils 'went on strike' on a number of Fridays. Sadly, it turned out that the teens I spoke to then held the same view about the environment protests as they seemingly do about IWD: it's just a great excuse not to go to school.

This seems like such a wasted opportunity to teach pupils about ownership and responsibility: if you're going to have a day off to strike, actually strike. If you don't believe in the thing you're striking about or don't feel particularly strongly about it, then go to school. I know, teachers would not forgive me for this idea and having taken up my mother's career advice, what would I know?

Looking back, I am quite sure I would have also jumped at the opportunity to have a day off school when I was 14. However, with age comes wisdom and if there's a job going at the Junta de Andalucía's education department for an opinionated middle-aged person with little to no experience of educating or raising children, do let me know.

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