I am writing to express my absolute disgust with the self-absorbed whining of Bermuda's teachers. Every day there is a new report on the illiteracy epidemic which is crippling our children (and country), while they mill around complaining about working more than 25 hours? Have teachers or, perhaps their propaganda promoting union, forgotten that the majority of our workforce puts in a 40-hour work week, without the added benefit of being off for every holiday created by Hallmark? Have they forgotten that for many, a 25-hour work week would mean a part time job? When teachers first started to complain about participating in further education seminars (that would benefit them), I thought, how small-minded and self-limiting. This however, is ridiculous! Now, I respect the challenges that teachers face, and I appreciate that the face of students has changed and the "teaching'' required is far different today, but teaching our children has to be considered an essential service. To refuse to watch a child at lunchtime is tantamount to placing that child in harm's way and appears to me to be at best, spiteful and petty.

If our teachers have forgotten the basic tenets of being educators and are more concerned about their "rights'' to lunch breaks and knock-off times, then we might as well forget about investing in literacy and other corrective programmes. For without the unconditional support of our teachers, both the programmes and sadly our children, are doomed to fail.

Sadly, NO LONGER HOPEFUL City of Hamilton Teachers had had enough October 20, 1999 Dear Sir, I feel I must make a few points to clarify the position of the teachers in this most unfortunate dispute.

We tend to think of teachers in the same category as nurses and doctors; these are vocational careers and traditionally call for great dedication and concern for fellow man and his children. We tend to gasp with horror and amazement when these dedicated individuals finally give up trying to negotiate for better working conditions and go on strike, however briefly.

Teachers are teachers because of love for children and wanting to make a difference. Teachers are in school, on duty from shortly after 8 a.m. until 3.30 or 4 p.m. five days per week and most of them are involved, voluntarily, for no extra pay, in after school-care duties, homework programmes, extra hours for special school projects and of course the parent teacher meetings, for which no overtime hours are recorded! While I fully relate to the frustration of parents whose children should be in school at this time, the issue is one of quality education. Even the most dedicated and caring teacher, nurse or doctor will get burned out and exhausted if there are insufficient refreshment breaks and legitimate time off for "recovery''.

Teaching is a very stressful job, no matter how much you love it, and the kids! Any parent who finds his energetic children tiring after a few hours should multiply this stress and fatigue level by about 25 and then understand that teachers need a quiet time now and again, to recover their equilibrium. A quiet 45 minutes a few times a week is essential for preparation of interesting lesson plans to keep the attention of the next classroom full of boisterous young minds! Teachers don't only work 25 hours per week! This is a serious misrepresentation of the facts.

It is my understanding that their agreement states that they should teach 25 hours per week. In addition to this is lesson preparation time, "marking'' time, lunchtime supervision, playground duty and the right to take a personal lunch break, limited it seems to 40 minutes, four times per week! Most of the working community would howl if they were allowed only 40 minutes for lunch! I would like to urge all parents of school age children to support the teachers all the way on this dispute, for the sake of their children and the quality of teaching and supervision they wish them to receive. Sadly it seems that there are insufficient teachers in the system at present, partly due to attrition from "burn-out'' among some very dedicated teachers who have retired from the battle spent and exhausted, but partly because the Department of Education has failed to recruit sufficient teachers to spread the load.

The matter can only get worse if we do not support the teachers now, and start improving the school system upon which the future of our children and our Island depends. Help your kids, support their teachers! M. FORSTER City of Hamilton See justice done October 16, 1999 Dear Sir, The basic issue of "the Rodney Smith affair'' is that justice must be seen to be done. If it is not seen to be done, the public will lose confidence in the judicial system.

WATCHING Paget