Why my tutors at King's College London are continuing to teach us even as they strike

It's hard to figure out what to say at a time like this. A guy named "Zach" from another uni in the UK said in a BBC interview that it was somewhat "wrenching" to realize he'd taking out a $65,000 annual loan in light of the strike, which began yesterday across the nation. The teachers are striking because their pensions are threatened to be cut by 10,000 pounds a year. That's the gist of it - don't make me get into the financial particulars. I don't have a pension. And I have about 25 pounds in my savings account.

From the standpoint of principle, the professors from King's College London (my uni), Oxford, Cambridge, etc. not only have a right but almost an imperative to stand up for themselves. Yet, as a cabbie put it to me last night, "That they are fighting because of a 10,000-pound loss shows they have pretty good pensions to begin with. Some of us don't even have pensions."

Right. Reminds me a bit of the argument in Hollywood, where rich actresses complain about not getting paid the equivalent of their super rich male colleagues. I completely agree they should be paid in an equal sum, but at the same time, it's a disquieting subject for those of us who've struggled to get by on $23,000 while freelancing, been forced to take Medicaid or go without homes and food in order to save up for our university educations.

However, while my professors will not be in class to provide that service I struggled for so many years to obtain, they are still teaching me - and thousands of others in England as we watch them picket (metaphorically, in my case, as it's a savings not to take the tube into the City during the strike.) They are teaching us, their students, that we should stand up for what's right and not be taken advantage of, to know our value. This is a lesson that will serve us well after graduation, as I fully know, because I'm in my fifties and have spent more time out of school than in it. I know the real world. And I also know this issue of standing up for oneself shouldn't end when the strike is settled, for we students also must know our value. We deserve to be compensated for our losses, in the same way as the teachers should be compensated fairly in their pension scheme. Yet the onus is not on the instructors, but on the universities who have gotten rich from people like myself who cough up huge amounts of cash to study abroad.

The sad thing is that this crash course in Reality 101 goes against everything higher learning is - to learn at a higher level. I am studying the eighteenth century, and have learned about how great philosophers and writers, natural theologians and fledgling geologists interpreted the world. I'm writing my dissertation on an aspect of King George III's reign, digging into the plethora of letters posted on

line at Georgian Papers in concert with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. I have also learned at least a thousand new words since starting my grad course in the autumn, from "viviparous" (bringing forth new life developed inside the parent) to "positivism" (a system whereby assertions are scientifically verified, and therefore reject theism).

My professors, who are called "tutors" here in England, work very hard. They have brains that function at a level I, on most days, can only aspire to approximate. I've often had to look up vocabulary words either shared orally or in writing, hence enriching my own vocabulary. My professors push themselves and us, from taking us on excursions not part of the lecture schedule - such as visiting

the Painted Hall at the Royal Naval College as part of my Great Fire to Great Exhibition London course - to insisting we have the answers to questions when called upon, rather than waiting for us to raise our hands (my philosophy prof, Niall).

I can't bear to walk down to King's and see any of my heroes in the position of striker, knowing they, unlike the gods I learn about in my classics studies, are actually mere mortals like I. Mortals who have mortgages to pay, children's braces to buy, parents to help tend to.

So please give my tutors what they want. A compromise, if necessary, must be reached by both sides this week. I am simply not brilliant enough - the American English version of the word - to withstand four weeks of missed classes and do as well on my dissertation. But even more importantly, I will just miss them. Inspired, dedicated, smart, funny - Emrys, James, Rosa, Clare, Niall, Anna, Caitjan, thank you. And good luck. PHOTOS: Laurie Wiegler; top at Musei Vaticani, researching Apollo Belvedere for my studies; middle - outside Maughan Library at King's, where I do the bulk of my research; and bottom, at the British Museum, who are in partnership with KCL on my Eighteenth-Century Studies course.