TEACHERS IN DEMAND FOR RECOGNITION OVER PEACE
Teachers in demand for recognition over peace
By Rosie Uffindell
SOCIETY needs to recognise the work of teachers in building and restoring peace, a union leader said yesterday.
Alistair Orr, the president of the Ulster Teachers' Union and a teacher at Edwards Primary School in Omagh, said the 50 million teachers worldwide were the "quiet peacemakers" who went about their work with no recognition.
His comments came in response to the publication of a brochure highlighting the work of teachers across the world, including one from Northern Ireland.
"Teachers increasingly have to resolve conflicts within and without the classroom, deal, with bullying - both in the discouragement and counselling aspects - and respond to symptoms of trauma, whether it be as the result of bullying at school, murder in the community or in the aftermath of events such as the Omagh tragedy which touched the lives of many of my own school's pupils," he said.
"Whether through dialogue, special projects or, most of all, personal example, it falls to teachers to promote the universal values of peace and tolerance."
The booklet has been produced by UNESCO and Education International, a union representing teachers across the world. Olwin Frost, a teacher at Oakwood Integrated
Primary School in Belfast, was profiled for her attempts to "bring out the children's own ideas of acceptable behaviour".
UTU general secretary Ray Calvin said: "Each time a teacher succeeds in creating a tolerant atmosphere, or enables a child to develop communication and problem-solving skills, a fundamental act of peace-building takes place.
"The remarkable teachers portrayed in the brochure simply exemplify the work being carried out by almost all of their colleagues, and nowhere more dramatically, over the period of the troubles, than in Northern Ireland.
"Teachers often carry out their tasks most often without specific training counselling, workshops or study packs.
"They fulfil this often unnoticed yet vital function of peace-building in spite of low status and meagre pay, inadequate resources and poor working conditions."
By Rosie Uffindell
SOCIETY needs to recognise the work of teachers in building and restoring peace, a union leader said yesterday.
Alistair Orr, the president of the Ulster Teachers' Union and a teacher at Edwards Primary School in Omagh, said the 50 million teachers worldwide were the "quiet peacemakers" who went about their work with no recognition.
His comments came in response to the publication of a brochure highlighting the work of teachers across the world, including one from Northern Ireland.
"Teachers increasingly have to resolve conflicts within and without the classroom, deal, with bullying - both in the discouragement and counselling aspects - and respond to symptoms of trauma, whether it be as the result of bullying at school, murder in the community or in the aftermath of events such as the Omagh tragedy which touched the lives of many of my own school's pupils," he said.
"Whether through dialogue, special projects or, most of all, personal example, it falls to teachers to promote the universal values of peace and tolerance."
The booklet has been produced by UNESCO and Education International, a union representing teachers across the world. Olwin Frost, a teacher at Oakwood Integrated
Primary School in Belfast, was profiled for her attempts to "bring out the children's own ideas of acceptable behaviour".
UTU general secretary Ray Calvin said: "Each time a teacher succeeds in creating a tolerant atmosphere, or enables a child to develop communication and problem-solving skills, a fundamental act of peace-building takes place.
"The remarkable teachers portrayed in the brochure simply exemplify the work being carried out by almost all of their colleagues, and nowhere more dramatically, over the period of the troubles, than in Northern Ireland.
"Teachers often carry out their tasks most often without specific training counselling, workshops or study packs.
"They fulfil this often unnoticed yet vital function of peace-building in spite of low status and meagre pay, inadequate resources and poor working conditions."
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0435
Published Date: 07-Oct-98
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