Sir, - Is it innocent coincidence or subtle manipulation of the media that in the week the Christian Brothers quite correctly issued an apology to their victims, the leader of the ASTI highlighted the abuses suffered by teachers in our secondary schools in recent years?
While acknowledging the need to provide a safe working environment for our teachers, it is to be hoped that Mr Lennon was not attempting to deflect attention from the fact that teachers other than Christian Brothers also committed acts of unbridled cruelty against generations of our students. The impression given in the media for the past week is that corporal punishment and physical abuse occurred only in Christian Brother Schools.
Therefore I believe it would be very worthwhile if Mr Lennon and the other teacher union leaders addressed this fact at their various conferences this week. An acknowledgment of past sins by other teachers may be of some benefit to their victims. - Yours, etc.,
Martin Larkin
Ashfield Park, Ennis, Co Clare.