Teacher’s murder and why we must take note

Few realise how demanding teaching can be and the range of skills required.

That a teacher can progress beyond the age of 50 without retiring or show no emotional strains, demonstrates remarkable stamina.

The recent horrific death of Ann Maguire, 61, a teacher of Spanish, at a Leeds college brings to the fore what can lurk inside a benign exterior of an educational institution.

The Irish Examiner (Opinion, April 20) asks some worrying questions as to whether it could happen on this island and what ‘disturbing influences’ are at play. This situation in Leeds may not have been a spontaneous action but one raised in contemplation over time. Every teacher must apply an attentive approach to every child under their care and in particular to changes in mood behaviour.

Simply trying to teach the subject limits considerations to wider social issues. Children are not placid objects in space but rather dynamic absorbing human machines, who do not yet have the tools to analyse effectively the information they acquire on a daily basis. The lived experience is becoming more complex and the new digital exchange allows little time for reflection.

Ms Maguire had clocked 41 years on her teaching career, had agreed to stay on for another year and even attended college on her day off. Teaching is demanding and the range of skills required are not within the grasp of all. The student will always occupy a different place to that of the teacher and to believe this not to be the case is a naivety. However appalling the thought, this one student had in his mind, the justification to do what he did. Where and how that action came into play and what social factors fostered this killing may benefit us in our understanding as to whether it was a blip on social criminal history or something more disturbing. We in this country must take note.

David Lyons

Pier19

Ushers Island, Dublin 8.