Sir, - The opening sentence of "The Political Interview" with Minister Bhreathnach (March 4th) put me in good heart ... "The most common word in Minister Bhreathnach's political vocabulary is partnership ..." As someone who has taught in one school for almost 20 years, and involved myself in the sporting, artistic and cultural life of the school as well as the educational aspect, I would like to feel that I would be seen as a partner with parents and management and my contribution valued as a partner. However, in a wide ranging interview stretching across six columns, the word "teacher" appears but once, and that is in the wording of a question by Andy Pollak - not by the Minister. Her reply, a quote from Machiavelli, could be just as easily attributed to Mr Eric Cantona and his musings on "sardines and seagulls", and causes me to lament yet again the demise of "Scrap Saturday".
I work closely with parents in two primary schools, and they certainly value and cherish their partnership with the teachers to whom they have chosen to entrust their children for their formative years. Partnership is not a new idea in Irish education - parents and teachers have stood together on many issues over the decades but, Ms Bhreathnach, a former teacher herself, seems determined to exclude those who are still in the classroom making their own contribution.
In the White Paper (I hesitate to use the possessive adjective "her" ... I believe in common ownership), she proposes to set up an Appeals Board through which parents can appeal any teacher's decision which "materially affects "the education of a student". This is a perfectly reasonable proposal, but the Minister's proposed Board does not include a teacher's representative. Some partners appear less equal than others ... or maybe they're not partners at all?
The Minister strikes a principled note on the subject of tolerance in her interview ... "and schools would have to spell out in their school plan how as a community they would accommodate those who aren't of the majority religious persuasion". Hear! Hear! Will this tolerance extend to having a chat with her partner in Government, Mr Taylor, so that teachers will be entitled to a private life? Will teachers be entitled to the same freedom to organise our lives and retain our beliefs as our partners in education, the parents of our pupils?
If a Fine Gael Minister held forth in a quality broadsheet on the subject of partnership in Government and spoke only of the vital role of his partners, Democratic Left, totally ignoring the Labour Party save for a passing swipe, I dare say the phrase "We've come for a head" would enjoy fresh currency.
In my profession we aspire to cherish all the children of the nation equally: could the Minister not cherish their teachers as well as their parents? - Yours, etc.,
New Street,
Limerick.