Letters to the Editor: Dire situation for teachers’ prospects
'The amount of very talented teachers stepping away or leaving the country every week is staggering.'
I’m writing as a disheartened post-primary teacher with five subjects and significant experience in mainstream and special educational needs (SEN) settings.
This is to illustrate the dire situation of the recruitment process within the teaching industry in Ireland.
It’s September and I’ve nothing secured.
There’s nothing advertised in my subject area, one of which is supposed to be a subject there is a “serious” shortage in, home economics.
Positions advertised in the South-East or nationwide are non-existent.
The media are reporting there is a shortage of teachers, but what it fails to outline is the shortage of substitute teachers.
Substitute teachers, or teachers on maternity contracts, do not get paid for school closures — midterm, summer, Easter, and Christmas — or if teachers go on maternity leave themselves.
We are relying on social welfare during those times and there is always a delay in receiving payment which forces a lot of teachers into arrears or loan situations.
A substitute can be employed for a day, a week, or a month in a school.
That substitute must terminate their social welfare claim for that short space of time and start all over again when they finish their substitution in the school.
This is not sustainable for teachers in primary and post-primary who have a family to support. It’s not financially sustainable anymore.
Over the summer, I applied and interviewed for multiple roles that were already filled.
The principals and boards already had candidates they wanted and there was no chance for any other candidate.
The process where there must be three candidates wastes teachers’ time and petrol, and contributes to a decline in mental health of a significant number of teachers.
There were very few subject jobs advertised this summer.
Special education teacher roles were the most advertised and employers seem fixated on having a certificate in SEN.
I have nine years of experience with all needs and employers prefer a candidate with theory and a certificate rather than a candidate with experience with complex needs.
Some employers ask that we upskill concurrently at our own expense which works out at a €10,000 investment overall.
I have already upskilled in home economics with over €10,000 invested.
I received a teacher refund of 33%, which is something, but very little.
The Teacher Refund Scheme application process is not fit for purpose; it takes months and it is a lottery.
I applied in February and received 33% last Friday.
Many teachers similar to my situation have small babies and families and asking us to give up time with them and more money to invest in upskilling where we are given false hope of guaranteed roles is disheartening.
The department should consider revamping the Teacher Refund Scheme process.
I had an interview recently for a maternity contract which does not pay during school closures.
It’s not acceptable anymore for me as I have a family to support.
I have a passion for teaching, and I’m very strong at classroom management and building relationships with students.
I’m stepping away from teaching as it does not serve me anymore.
We need fixed term or regular part-time (RPT) contracts to support ourselves.
Some paint us as villains because of the summer holidays.
The lucky few who have fixed term and RPTs have summer holiday pay and maternity pay.
The rest of us rely on family, loans, and finding short term summer work which is not suitable for teachers who need to organise childcare.
I’m waiting by the phone for a school to call with even a day’s substitution.
I’m dressed and ready to work from 7am with the hope the phone will ring as I have sent my CV to schools in three counties.
Moving is not an option as I have a small baby.
Driving an hour each way is no longer sustainable with a family. Time is irreplaceable. I’m refreshing my email frequently during the day with the hope of a school contacting me.
The recruitment process needs a serious overhaul. The amount of very talented teachers stepping away or leaving the country every week is staggering.
Teachers are leaving in their numbers to go to Dubai, Australia, and England.
The interview process would be better if Ireland mirrored the English system in that part of your interview would involve teaching a class in the school whilst being observed.
The panel interview show a candidate at their theoretical best but does not give an accurate portrayal of their abilities.
The numbers exiting teaching and entering administration or the civil service are staggering.
Many are leaving due to the contract structures, they are disillusioned with the system.
Those numbers leave gaps that are not filled. Those roles are being advertised as maternity or short term contracts.
I hope this letter gives a broad picture of the state of the dire situation in teaching.
I’m disheartened writing this as, after nine years of applying, interviewing, being rejected, and not getting more than a year in a school, I now must step away from the industry that I love and work well within.
I’m another loss to the industry. I am just a number, and a seat filler in interviews, and it is very disheartening and soul destroying.
As a substantial flotilla of vessels sails for Gaza, it might be useful to reflect on previous efforts and, more pertinently, on the Israeli reaction at the time.
The Global Sumud Flotilla is the largest convened since the entirely peaceful, unarmed Freedom Flotilla of May 2010 in which a number of Irish, including myself, participated.
The outcome on that occasion was a grotesque reminder of Israel’s disdain for international law and human rights activists.
In international waters on May 31 that year, under the cloak of early-morning darkness, we were surrounded and attacked by Israeli commandos in fast-moving zodiacs, corvettes, and helicopters.
The vessel on which I travelled — Challenger 1 — was chased down, stun grenades were thrown on board, plastic rounds were fired, and it was stormed with considerable violence by over-stimulated Israeli soldiers.
Much worse happened on the Mavi Marmara, the largest ship in the flotilla, which was just off our starboard side.
Nine of our colleagues on that ship were killed — and another mortally wounded — as Israeli forces opened fire while boarding.
Dozens more civilians were injured.
According to a report issued by the UN Human Rights Council in September 2010: “Flotilla passengers were civilians and in the context of the interception of the vessels must be considered protected persons.”
Nonetheless, the report was clear that this was not respected: “The circumstances of the killing of at least six of the passengers were in a manner consistent with an extra-legal, arbitrary, and summary execution.
Furkan Doğan and İbrahim Bilgen were shot at near range while the victims were lying injured on the top deck. Cevdet Kiliçlar, Cengiz Akyüz, Cengiz Songür, and Çetin Topçuoğlu were shot on the bridge deck while not participating in activities that represented a threat to any Israeli soldier.”
Following the Freedom Flotilla, we reorganised in Ireland as the Irish Ship to Gaza campaign and in November 2011 sailed the Saoirse alongside a Canadian vessel, the Tahrir, to Gaza in an effort to break Israel’s illegal maritime blockade of that territory.
Again, in international waters, our ships were surrounded by Israeli commandos and violently hijacked.
All 14 Irish citizens on board were taken against our will to Israel from where we were eventually expelled.
This is how Israel has repeatedly treated vessels that have sought to bring solidarity and aid to Gaza, and there is no reason to believe it will behave differently towards the Global Sumud Flotilla.
This is why governments in the global north, including the Irish government, need to be robust in demanding that these boats be allowed to safely reach the beaches of Gaza.
In 2010, Israel displayed its capacity to use the most extreme violence against unarmed civil activists and this cannot be allowed to happen again.
It is very important also that the media and commentators focus on the reasons behind the flotilla and not on those on board, no matter how prominent they might be.
Such solidarity efforts are not, and never should be, about the activists and public figures on the boats.
The flotillas are an attempt to amplify the marginalised voices of those under siege in Gaza and to pressure the so-called “international community” into taking purposeful action against Israel.
All eyes must remain on Gaza. Civil society is taking action because governments stubbornly refuse to. Israel simply cannot be permitted to continue its ethnic cleansing and genocide.
The 80th session of the UN General Assembly will open next week.
This year’s theme, ‘Better Together: 80 Years and More for Peace, Development and Human Rights’, aligns closely with Ireland’s longstanding commitment to advancing democracy and human rights on the global stage.
Even during periods of severe economic challenge, Ireland has remained steadfast in supporting the United Nations and UN-mandated peacekeeping operations.
With this history in mind, one must also reflect on the lack of presence faced by another small state that has consistently championed democracy and human rights: Taiwan.
Despite being one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies and a regional leader in advancing progressive social rights, Taiwan continues to be denied meaningful participation in the UN.
This exclusion stems from the persistent misinterpretation of UNGA Resolution 2758 by the People’s Republic of China, in support of the so-called ‘One China Principle’.
Ireland’s contributions through the UN system have, quite literally, saved lives. It is therefore worth considering what another small state — one equally devoted to peace, justice, and democracy — could achieve if given the opportunity to participate meaningfully within the United Nations.
In today’s deeply complex geopolitical environment, these universal values must be upheld for all, and by all.
