Madam, – I am proud to be a teacher. Despite the protestations of the mass media in Ireland, we appear to be the only group standing up and exposing the lies, deception and treachery of this Government.
And why? Because, every day, we are in the front line. We deal with parents who are becoming more stressed each day from the risk of unemployment and increasing financial worries, and this is impacting on the behaviour of children in the classroom.
We know that our children and our grandchildren will bear the brunt of bailing out the banks and the wealthy elites in this country. We will see the effects of this when our children leave school to become unemployed or go into low-paid temporary work servicing the wealthy in their mansions and hotels.
We will see another generation, separated from friends and family abroad, with little job security and seeking refuge in drugs and alcohol.
Others, more fortunate, will leave college owing tens of thousands of euro, and will be paying off loans for 20 to 30 years, as there will be no money to fund third-level education.
The unfairness of the situation is appalling, as we try to instil in our children the central beliefs of fair-play, truth, honesty and respect for oneself and others. – Yours, etc,