Sir, - I was rather surprised to read Mary Keegan's myopic letter (April 20th) on teachers' duties and pay. What she fails to acknowledge is that, although a teacher's day may appear to end at 4 p.m., it regularly stretches to 10 or 11 p.m. due to lesson preparations and corrections. This is also the case at weekends.
In addition, teachers with exam classes often provide voluntary extra tuition before or after school and during lunch-breaks. Many teachers are also regularly involved in extra-curricular programmes (sports, debating, speech and drama competitions, organising and participating in school tours, etc.) which take many hours of extra, personal, non-paid time.
Ms Keegan also fails to acknowledge that teachers take on the responsibility of other people's children (often over 200 a day!); help to provide a safe and stable environment for each child; maintain a disciplined environment; and assist the child to achieve his or her best potential - both in terms of character development and in the increasingly competitive points race.
Before Ms Keegan bemoans the work of teachers by claiming that they work short days with long holidays, perhaps she should examine the reasons for same. - Yours, etc.,
Danielle Duggan (Teacher), Booterstown, Co Dublin.