Asti conference: Teachers and schools are expected to cure all the societal problems and excesses of 21st century Ireland - and are feeling increasingly embattled in trying to hold back the impact of a "consumer culture" on education, the president of the Asti told its annual conference in Cork yesterday.
Susie Hall said teenage pregnancies, binge drinking and drug abuse, violence among young people and obesity were all issues which today's teachers are expected to deal with, despite living in a society which was no longer supporting the values and standards of behaviour which teachers seek to promote.
However, she warned that they "cannot be expected to make up for the failing of society, which often seems to be abdicating all control, good example and responsibility".
In a passionate speech, Ms Hall also called for a national plan to address the issue of student discipline, as existing legislation is "tilted in favour of unruly pupils". It was also necessary to recognise the educational environment of schools was being spoilt by a small minority of pupils - a fact backed up by a 2004 Asti survey which showed that more than half of teachers had suffered verbal abuse from students.
"I would like to make it quite clear that we will not tolerate our members having to work in these conditions. Unacceptable behaviour is always unacceptable and political correctness must never be allowed to cloud the issue," she said.
"There must also be recognition that some students in mainstream schools, whose behaviour is seriously and persistently disruptive, may not be suitable for teaching within a mainstream class. Resources must be put in place for them. We do not want any pilot projects. Effective measures must be devised and put in place, which will be supported nationally by all of the participants, and no one can abdicate their responsibility."
A serious reduction in class sizes was also essential if any real improvement was to be seen in student behaviour, Ms Hall said.
It is "nothing short of a scandal" that Ireland continued to have some of the largest class sizes in the EU, she said. But the Government also needed to recognise the demands placed on schools by the increasing diversity of the student body, she said.
For example, the mainstreaming of students with special needs, while a welcome development, had placed unbelievable pressure on teachers, many of whom had received no training in the area.
"Teaching is a wonderful career but if you lose the energy for the task or become burnt out, there is no job that will kill you quicker," she said.
The male teacher was also at risk of becoming extinct, Ms Hall warned, with many young people now living in a situation where they have no male role models.
Many young males were also under severe pressure to under-achieve and opt out of what is going on in school, she concluded.
Meanwhile, the Asti is to vigorously negotiate with the Department of Education for the pupil to classroom teacher ratio to be reduced to 15:1, after a motion was passed unanimously by delegates.
However, delegates failed to reach a decision on the next vice-president of the union, after the second of two ballots resulted in a draw. Ordinarily, the vice-president will in turn become the president of the union.
A further ballot on whether Michael Freeley from Balla, Co Mayo, or Lily Cronin from Tralee, Co Kerry, will become the next vice-president of the union will take place later today.
Earlier, the conference also unanimously passed a motion calling on the Asti to negotiate with the department for the provision of sufficient numbers of staff, including caretakers, cleaners, ICT technicians and science laboratory technicians, in all schools.
Time to put manners on the brat pack: page 13