GORDON LIGHTFOOT | Culture
OHH I’M OKAY THANKS MISS
Josie Sunderland, a teacher at Henderson Intermediate in West Auckland, has been bugging her students this week in an attempt to make ends meet.
The 24 year old is in her third year of teaching and is considering whether she should gamble on a career change, even after her teacher training racked up a sizable student loan. This comes as teachers take strike action today in a bid to get fairer pay and conditions from the government.
In the last week however, due to some unexpected expenses, Ms Sunderland has been offering up her old iPad for sale to her students. “I like to see if there’s any interest in my old stuff at school before I head to Trademe. Saves on success fees and it’s a pain having to sort out postage,” she explained, as if this was totally normal.
“No bites yet. Had more success a month back when I was selling my old clothes to some of the Year 8 girls.
“I’ve been spreading the word about the iPad to parents too during pickup time. Never know if someone needs an extra screen at home right?”
Ms Sunderland’s students are concerned about the situation however. “Yeah Ms Sunderland tried to sell me her iPad this morning. I thought teaching was a good job, why does she keep trying to sell us her old stuff?”, enquired Lexus, 12.
“I’ve always thought about teaching as something to do when I grow up, but now I’m not sure. Like, is selling your old stuff to your kids just part of the job? Seems like a lot of extra work”.
Ms Sutherland, who was sporting a black eye from when a student threw a chair at her, said a career change and a even a pay cut might be worth it. “Well if I could just work 9-5 in a cafe then I would have lots more time for my Trademe selling. It would free up my nights and weekends, which are taken up with a lot of lesson prep at the moment.
“It would be a shame to give up all the school holidays, but I can’t really enjoy them anyway because I know that when they come to an end I’ll be back teaching again,” she said.
“It’s like ‘ooh I wonder how many chairs will be chucked at me this term’,” she laughed, swallowing her sadness.
More to come.
Want to keep up with more of the news that’s important? Instagram works well for that! Check out the Whakataki Times on Insta.
