Sir - "What has the vast majority of hard working teachers to fear from performance evaluation?" asks Sean Flynn (Opinion, December 6th). How can a hard-working, dedicated Education Editor not know the answer to this question?
Teachers are afraid of an ignorant, distorting system of evaluation derived from business-oriented strategic management thinking. This is precisely what has been proposed by the Department of Education, which is unwilling or unable to fund an adequate inspectorate. Further, we have witnessed the plague of box-ticking, form-filling activity which has distorted and deformed the education system in Britain and we know that our bureaucrats have similar plans.
The wise men on the benchmarking bench have no knowledge of education and do not understand why the management of a school or hospital should be any different from the management of a factory. They would almost certainly decree that any specific wage increase for teachers would be conditional on acceptance of management and evaluation proposals which the TUI and ASTI have already rejected.
Teachers have good reason to reject benchmarking, along with performance-related pay, league tables and the other anti-educational suggestions. Can I respectfully suggest that Sean Flynn do some investigative reporting? - Yours, etc.,
Sean Edwards, Hillcrest View, Lucan, Co Dublin.