[WelcomeMe]

Does this really have anything to do with the teacher strike? Aren't most English children off from school now?

[ecosportpol_ru]

I don't care for unions, but it was this girl's time to go. Nothing to do with a union. Unfortunate event though.

[ChrisGoldstein]

I'm sorry, but...
Tragic Sophie Howard was sitting on a bench Was that her nickname?

[grubnismarl]

Oh, so the Daily Telegraph links this random death to the strike as well as the Mail. Not as bad as the Daily Mail article, which constantly implied that the striking teachers had killed this girl.

I know everyone likes to exercise their sense of moral outrage when it comes to strikes and unions but scoring political points against this strike & the teachers because of this tragic death is shabby opportunism imo.

Precisely, and furthermore, aren't English children out of school for the summer?
Why would a 13 year old be going to a community college?

[purchasviagra]

According to Wikipedia:
# In the United Kingdom, the summer holidays last from late July until early September. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_vacation#By_country
Freaks.

[Ambrakam]

The schools are still open, but blaming the strike for the accident is like blaming an individual's employer for an accident on the way to work.

[vNGiDaFX]

Oh, so the Daily Telegraph links this random death to the strike as well as the Mail. Not as bad as the Daily Mail article, which constantly implied that the striking teachers had killed this girl.

I know everyone likes to exercise their sense of moral outrage when it comes to strikes and unions but scoring political points against this strike & the teachers because of this tragic death is shabby opportunism imo.

Instead the outrage should be over the fact that the teachers are forcing students out of school for their petty pension benefits.

[Trissinas]

and yeah this is such bullshit from the telegraph. utterly shameful.

[teewHettive]

I don't care for unions, but it was this girl's time to go. Nothing to do with a union. Unfortunate event though.

And if the strike didn't get her, Sloww would go over there and trample her himself.

[LeaderBiz]

Instead the outrage should be over the fact that the teachers are forcing students out of school for their petty pension benefits.

There is no sense in which the word "petty" is appropriate there. Seriously, think about things harder before you post.

[soipguibbom]

I :heart: how sensitive you are.

[cjOTw7ov]

I don't care for unions, but it was this girl's time to go. Nothing to do with a union. Unfortunate event though.

SlowwHand speaks the truth.

Sad event, and really sad that the Torygraph uses it to try and score a political point.

[texbrease]

Pension benefits aren't petty, they're vital to ensure a decent standard of living in your later years.

Why don't you just keep working? It's not as though teaching is a physically demanding profession that one can't do past a certain age.

[Saad Khan]

Holy ****. Not retiring is petty?

[actifadepette]

Regardless of whether that is true, how does it make retirement a petty issue?

[Abanijo]

Hey.

[Shark&Nike]

Hence, why I consider this petty. They're not coal miners, they're teachers. Their jobs are pretty cushy as jobs go.

Contending with a room full of children, and trying to get them to actually learn, is far from my idea of cushy. Throw in snarky parents, education bureaucrats, school boards and so forth and one gets further from "cushy". I shudder at the very thought.

[Rithlilky]

You have to spend all day in a room with people like HC!

[Klorissana]

You are a ****ing moron. If teachers' retirements were "petty" benefits then you wouldn't care about them. The fact that they are so expensive that you care necessarily implies that they are also very valuable.

They aren't that expensive...

[Smabeabumjess]

teaching is mentally tiring, can be very high pressure and demands alot of a person.

That doesn't sound much different from most jobs in today's society. It also doesn't explain why you think it's a good idea for yourself and your peers (male British educators) to spend 20% of your lives (on average) retired from a job you could still perform, wasting valuable human capital in the process.