Mr Shay Bannon, principal of one of the biggest schools in Co Tipperary, said his 41 teachers were "working very hard" yesterday, some in the staffroom and others in empty classrooms.
Principal of High School, Clonmel, which caters for 710 boys, Mr Bannon said teachers were "feeling hurt, very hurt" about the Government's refusal to open meaningful discussions with the ASTI.
Mr Bannon, an ASTI member, is in an unusual position because his son is taking the Leaving Certificate this year at the school. "I know how teachers and parents feel, and both are unhappy that no meaningful talks seem to be happening." He said that as in other schools exam students would not lose out due to the strike. "We will look at all kinds of ways for the time to be made up. I don't want to panic students during all this, they have enough pressure on them already," he said.
"The Minister for Education is not being held to account by the media. The Department let this situation build up for years and has done nothing to properly resource schools," he said.
He said teachers at his school gave up eight days a year of their own time to perform extra services around the school. "There is the drama, debates, outdoor pursuits and, most importantly, the pastoral care given by teachers to students. None of that is being acknowledged by the Department," Mr Bannon said.
Like many Irish secondary schools the reason supervision is done on a voluntary basis at the High School is because it was originally done by the religious. "Nothing was put in its place when the number of religious dwindled," he explained.
"One has to ask how can it be so easy for a system to grind to a halt. I think it is because teachers have been providing supervision on a voluntary basis for years. And when they pull out, the whole thing goes down," he said.
"The talking has to begin. The Government has talked to the taxi-men, the railway workers, but not the teachers. Principals have already said this dispute should go before the teachers' conciliation council, where it could be resolved. If it doesn't end soon we could be entering a nightmare scenario in the new year," he said.