BRIAN MOONEY'S ADVICE CENTRE:TEACHERS MOVE centre stage this week as the various unions hold their annual conferences. Teachers, parents and school managers are justifiably angry following the deep education cutbacks introduced over the past year. This sense of anger is very strong, because these cutbacks have targeted the most vulnerable children in our schools, those from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, and those with a disability or special need.

Teachers, like all State employees, are also angry because of the cuts in their take-home pay, resulting from the various levies and taxes imposed over the past year. We (and I write as a working teacher) have a burning sense of injustice; we are being asked to pay the price of the greed and corruption of those who drove our economy over the cliff edge – for their own personal gain. Worse still, those who hold positions of power in both the political and financial worlds appear to have insulated themselves from the pain being experienced by working people.

Teachers are also angry in a wider sense about the lack of regulation and the virtual collapse of the world’s financial system. They know how their past pupils, who studied hard for many years to build a future for themselves in Ireland, are now suffering the indignity of queuing to collect unemployment benefit.

So, don’t be surprised if you see an outpouring of anger and frustration from the podiums of the various teachers’ conferences. We are only human and we are entitled to express the level of unhappiness that exists within our profession. We will communicate our anger to the Minister for Education and Science Batt O’Keeffe when he visits our various conferences. He will be fully aware that this anger is not directed at him personally, but in his representative capacity, as a member of the Government which has overseen the management of our country for the past 12 years.

But having expressed our anger and frustration at the situation we now find ourselves in, we need to move on. We need to provide leadership to students and to society at large, at a time when it is sorely lacking from so many other traditional sources.

Some weeks ago, I stated in this column that I did not support a teachers’ strike, even though my union, the ASTI, had called on me to vote in favour of such action. It did not surprise me that 40 per cent of my fellow ASTI members also rejected this request to strike.

The refusal of Impact trade union members to support strike action in sufficient numbers showed how many Irish workers do not want to cause further disruption to the daily lives of fellow citizens. It is time for the Government and the social partners to realise that those of us who currently have a job realise how privileged we are in the present circumstances.

Provided the pain associated with recovery is seen to be spread fairly, most people do not want to engage in industrial action that further disrupts the life of our fellow citizens.

My fellow teachers attending conferences this week should take the opportunity to show that we can move beyond our anger. They should resist calls for any form of industrial action which would affect the quality of education provided in our schools. We must put love of country first, by working selflessly to build an Ireland we can be proud of.

We are a sovereign nation and do not want to contribute to a scenario where the International Monetary Fund (IMF) dictates the terms of our recovery.

During my teaching life I, along with tens of thousands of colleagues, have been energised and revitalised by the sound of a “Hello sir/miss” from a past pupil, or a parent proudly recounting how well their son/daughter has done following their school years in our care.

Teachers are held in high regard by the Irish people, due to the quality of education they have consistently provided. By continuing to deliver the highest quality of education possible with the resources available, we can show that that respect is well placed.

Brian Mooney, former president of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors, is also a member of the ASTI