An unfair portrayal of teachers

Sir,– I write out of disgust at the portrayal of teachers in "'See you in September' say some cheery colleagues", (Secret Teacher, Education, March 16th). As a secondary teacher, I can tell you that we were not delighted. All staff were extremely concerned for our students who are in a context of educational disadvantage and may not have supports at home. No cheers went up from our students. Anxiety and fear were the overriding emotions. There was and is anxiety about remote teaching using online classrooms and how we can no longer do our jobs to the best of our abilities. The narrative that is constantly portrayed by the media and in this article is that teachers do not work. The opposite is true. I did not hear one cheery "See you in September" as I left the building laden with books and fear. We would all rather not be living this nightmare. We want to be in our classrooms. – Yours, etc,

LAURA McNAMARA,

Kilmainham,

Dublin 8.