Sir, - An interesting phenomenon emerged in the course of the teachers' strike, which I hope will be analysed and interpreted by experts in the fields of sociology and psychology: I refer to the deep, abiding, visceral hatred displayed by the Government, media and public at large for teachers.
A decent, if ineffectual, attempt was made to conceal this, by references to society's respect and admiration for those who instruct its young; but underlying it all was an unholy glee that teachers were finally getting what was due to them ("a good kick up the backside", according to one of your recent correspondents).
My own, layperson's, explanation is that the Irish psyche is so marked by its subjection to authority during its schooldays that adult responses never truly develop. Witness the Taoiseach's performance in the Dail when he said he couldn't and wouldn't talk to the ASTI: here was a delighted 14-year-old in short trousers getting to tell his teachers where to go - and with the full backing of the Government, the people and the sacred PPF.
TV and radio presenters, and newspaper editors, abandoning their professional duty of impartiality, displayed naked bias, and representatives of responsible parents' bodies used language so intemperate that the National Parents' Council issued an apology to the ASTI.
I have been teaching for over 30 years. In that time I have found my colleagues to be overwhelmingly responsible, conscientious, public-spirited and, above all, dedicated to the welfare of their students. I did not personally approve of the targeting of the exams in the recent campaign but I can understand the desperation which drove the ASTI to this measure. I am also convinced that, had the exams not been threatened, this would not have lessened by one iota the odium heaped on teachers.
Our young people are enthusiastic, inquiring, fair-minded and very aware of the pressures of the world they live in. The ever-dwindling number of them considering teaching as a career option will have observed the events of the past months and drawn the sensible conclusion. - Yours, etc.,
Angela McCarthy, Barristown, Passage East, Co Waterford.