I am not writing to condone or condemn the actions of teachers, but will condemn the blatantly biased attacks teachers have come under in the media. First, there’s Stephen Calleja whose articles (TMIS, 12 July 2009 and TMIS, 3 January) do nothing but fan the flames of bias against teachers with untruths – he says teachers wouldn’t strike in summer so as not to lose pay. For your information, when the teachers did strike they willingly gave up a day’s pay to protest against unfair treatment.

Mr Calleja claims we teachers have 60 days leave. Many harp on teachers’ holidays with envy without realising that the holidays fall in summer when government workers enjoy half-days. Due to workshops, teachers can still be on duty up to around 10 July and be back on duty around 18 September – do the math. Roughly 50 half-days = 25 days (Remember one is not supposed to include Saturdays/ Sundays/ public holidays). Now add 10 working days for Christmas and five days for Easter (you shouldn’t add Good Friday. George Gatt, who claimed in his letter to TMIS of 17 January that we get 10-12 days at Easter time clearly doesn’t know what he is talking about). So what we are talking about here is 40-45 working days if we include carnival and mid-term. But what about government workers (not teachers) who get 27 full days of leave, plus working half days in summer, which is like adding another 50 half-day holidays (25 full days) to their 27, giving them roughly 50 full working days. So who is better off?

So if you think teachers are on easy street, tell that to the teacher blinded by a student, to the teacher who had his teeth knocked out, to the teacher who had his car or other personal property vandalized, to the teacher who walks down the street to the name-calling of students, to the teacher that is trying to teach 20-27 students in a room that is an ice-box in winter and a sauna in summer! Tell it to the teacher who has to be parent/ teacher/ police and friend to a class of individuals with varying needs and sensitivities!

Tell it to the teachers who have to get up early to go to Malta to work and do not know what time they will return home due to the unpredictability of transport – I myself had to return to Gozo via helicopter several times when I was in Malta, and believe me they don’t put us up in some 4-star hotel as they do university lecturers coming to Gozo!

Mr Calleja, you say that teachers don’t care about the students’ needs and pressures! Tell that to the staff of Ninu Cremona who give up their Sundays to have the annual spring fairs to help the school and students, to the teachers who go out of their way to help the students – we just don’t have anyone to toot our horn!

So, if anyone wants to crucify the whole teaching profession because of certain individuals, then we might as well crucify every other profession – including the police and the judiciary! He who is without sin cast the first stone!

One final question, Mr Calleja: if the teachers are not interested in the students’ welfare, then why is it that the government brags about the many students that are reaching tertiary level education? And remember, if it weren’t for us teachers, you wouldn’t be able to write against us!

Joe Falzon

QALA