Remember what teachers do for children

World Teachers’ Day has just passed and to mark the occasion we, the leaders of all the teachers’ and lecturers’ unions in Ireland and Great Britain would like to pose three questions:

• If you had a child or a loved one in school, college or university wouldn’t you prefer them to be taught by qualified, well-motivated, well-resourced and appreciated teachers and lecturers?

• Would you prefer that the staff:student ratio afforded maximum personal attention to the needs of the learners?

•Can you think of a better way to bring about progressive social change than by top quality, publicly funded education?

This is not the opening phase of a pay/wages campaign. Nor is it a recruitment campaign for teacher unions (the vast majority know the wisdom of acting collectively).

No, this is a simple reminder of the quality of what we already enjoy in large measure; a reminder of the dangers of taking it for granted and an exhortation to all of us to see a world class education system as an entitlement, not an aspiration.

Philip Irwin President ASTI, Pat King General SecretaryASTI, Rose Malone President, IFUT, Mike Jennings General Secretary IFUT, Seán McMahon President INTO, Sheila Nunan General Secretary INTO, Gerry Quinn President TUI, John MacGabhann General Secretary TUI.