Dear Sir, After reading the letter signed `Stop Moaning from Paget', I had no other choice but to respond. It amazes me that people, parents, students or others have the audacity to call teachers self-centred about having to work ONLY 25 hours when they are not sure what we do after those mere 25 hours. The writer had the nerve to suggest that teachers should come and work in other professions and see what they have to go through.

I have worked in other professions, long before I became a teacher and I take great exception to my job being belittled to a mere 25 hours. When you compare us to doctors and lawyers indicating that the hours they put in are by far longer than the hours a teacher puts in, then NOBODY knows what kind of time teachers put in. Many times we work by far longer than any doctor or laywer. I have yet to call a doctor or lawyer at their home for services, like parents call teachers. We don't complain, because to us, it is part of our job, and we don't bill you, as a doctor and lawyer will.

Maybe we should start charging someone, just like the doctors and lawyers.

For those of you who are unaware, and it appears to be all of the non-teaching public, the 25 hours were not working time, they were contact time with students. Because, believe me, Bermuda could not afford to pay teachers for the overtime we put in beyond our 40-hour work week. Yes, we do work 40 hours.

We must be on premises, just like all other employees, for 40 hours.

Let me describe to you a typical teaching day. We spend at least 25 hours a week teaching your child, add to that the discipline training that they must receive in order to teach them. In order to teach those 25 hours, we must prepare lessons for them. This usually takes about 15 to 20 hours a week. So far we are up to 40 to 45 hours per week. Once we have taught your child, papers must be marked, and recorded. Depending on the subject and child, that could take about 10 to 15 hours. Now we are up to 50-65 hours per week. I haven't even included the administrative duties.

Most teachers remain in school until five or six o'clock nights, we are there on weekends, and you know those nights that parents come to talk to teachers, teachers have to be there, but we do not get paid for them. No we do not submit overtime sheets like most people do who work extra hours, nor are we granted time in lieu. We do not get paid for more than our 40 hours per week.

Stop Moaning mentioned reading, my only comment is: What job do parents have in the training of their own children? I suppose we should go home with the children to ensure that they do read.

Literacy is a problem, but the school is only half the solution. Parents must be the other half.

Bermudian teachers are some of the highest paid in the world. That may be true, but waitresses in Bermuda are some of the highest paid as well. Our wages have more to do with the cost of living than the job. American teachers are paid according to the cost of living index, just like Bemudians.

When I take my two-month, not three-month vacation, I am always busy. I take courses, I teach and I work in the system, many times so parents who have to work, have the babysitting service they need. I apologise for the baby sitting comment, but when teachers have an issue and parents are upset because they don't know what they are going to do with their child, then to me they view education as a babysitting service.

I have worked in the private sector, and it was never as difficult as teaching, the hours were never as long and I only had to deal with a few people, not hundreds. I am SICK of defending what I do to people that have no clue. Instead of inviting me to work in your world, I've been there, I invite you to spend a week or even a day in mine. I get to work every day at 8.00 and I have yet to leave before 6.00. Do you? Gina E.E. Davis, BA. M.Ed.

A Bermudian Teacher Warwick via e-mail Get the facts straight! October, 1999 Dear Sir, Please, please, please, allow me the opportunity to inform and clarify some things written by "Stop Moaning'', in your October 27th issue. This particular individual is clearly misinformed of the facts; and I truly believe that had he/she been knowledgeable of the facts, he/she wouldn't have made such unfounded accusations. This individual stated that teachers should stop complaining about the fact of having to work a 25-hour work week. From whom did this person receive his/her information? This individual definitely didn't converse with a teacher; for had he/she done so, one would have explained that teachers are paid to work 35 hours a week...With this fact in mind, I'm certain that "Stop Moaning'' and any other rational individual can clearly fathom how teachers can possibly and ultimately work more than 35 hours a week. I work from 8.30am -3.30 p.m. daily, trying to convince Bermuda's future of the importance of being educated; many students lack motivation and simply don't care about their future. Yes, there are some diligent young adults who do value their education, but unfortunately they are not the vast majority. My hectic work schedule does allow me prep periods, which I use to prepare lessons, mark papers, and make telephone calls to parents regarding their child's academic performance and behaviour. However, there's just not enough time in the day to do everything. An hour a day, to accomplish all of the above-mentioned duties, isn't sufficient time.

Therefore, I must stay after school to complete these assignments and/or I must take my unfinished products home, and finish them there. So in actual fact, I do work at least 50 hours a week, easily. Don't forget -- teacher's have lives too. We have family commitments and are also involved in various organisations of the community.

Let me clear up another misconception: teachers don't get three months off for the summer. School is closed during July and August. The students are on vacation; therefore we have no clients to attend to; our jobs are closed.

Contrary to what people think, we don't get paid for July and August. We have a year salary -- a 10-month salary (i.e. September-June), but our cheques are pro-rated. That means instead of receiving my full salary for the 10 months I work, my employer has so graciously designed a plan where I can stretch my salary over a 12-month period. This then compensates the fact that I'm out of work for 2 months.

"Stop Moaning'' also stated that teachers are self-centred. I beg to differ.

On many occasions teachers go above and beyond the call of duty in the name of "the student''. Some teachers: bring extra sandwiches to school every day because many children don't have food to eat; take/have taken children home in their cars because parents neglect (on a daily basis)/have neglected to pick their child up at 3.30pm; have paid for students' school clothes out of their own pockets because children arrive at school without the proper attire and materials needed to be successful in the class; have "adopted'' a child because many of our children don't have anyone to talk to and confide in, they have emotional problems, and are involved in illegal activities or are on the verge of committing suicide; some teachers have been cursed off, pushed, spat on, and had their vehicles damaged by disgruntled young people, but they've stayed on the job, and stuck it out because they care about the student; some care for students during the weekend (allow them to stay at their houses) because many students are raising themselves and long for a relationship with a caring adult.

I could go on and on, but I think that I've made my point. All of these things require a great deal of time, energy and emotion -- teachers are people too.

"Stop Moaning'' states that teachers need to "go and work with other people in other professions for about a week''. I challenge you, "Stop Moaning'' and other members of the public to go and spend a week with a teacher. I guarantee you will be enlightened. Teachers need the support of the community because we spend more time with "Bermuda's future'' than the parents do. We have the "inside scoop''. We aren't a group of moaners, trying to get out of work. We are only asking to be appreciated and respected.

Miss Reeshemah Swan CedarBridge Academy A fairer voting system October 26, 1999 Dear Mr. Editor It is not with amazement that I find UBP MPs like Grant Gibbons lamenting the virtues of the Westminster electoral system. After the system had faithfully served them for so many years, they realised that even gerrymandering constituencies cannot keep an incompetent party in power.

Well, hypocrisy seems to be the UBP's new strategy on everything wrong with Bermuda, so I'll cut straight to the point. With all of the talk of proportional representation being a "fairer'' electoral system, I'd like to turn things up a notch. Presently we have safe seat constituencies, where basically an idiot of idiots is guaranteed a win if he/she stands for the right party. With Bermuda's small size, it's not as if the newly-elected idiot is able use his/her power on behalf of his constituency supporters only...The reality is that you could have every other constituency opposing the views of a particular candidate, but a majority in that one constituency can still elect him/her to act on the behalf of all of us! Now how fair is that? I say why not have an electoral system that allows the voters to vote on who will be their representatives across the island! Not only will each constituency still be represented by a specific MP, but no candidate could be elected without the majority support of all voters. With each ballot offering a choice for every constituency, no longer would the scarecrow be able to ride on the coat-tails of the political party -- he/she would have to have the talent to sway us all. They would actually have to be (shudder) "the best person for the job'', and not still wishing they had a brain.

In other words, if once elected an MP has the power to affect all of us, then all of us should have the power to affect whether or not a candidate is elected. You can't get any fairer than that! Just Another Bye via e-mail Misleading the public? October 14, 1999 Dear Sir, I wonder why the Telecommunications minister Renee Webb came on Television and stated publicly that the Faraway cellular tower was 9 percent of FCC Guidelines, when in fact the report clearly states it is 17 percent of FCC maximum exposure limits for the general population? Bearing in mind that she had about ten days to review the report before the press release, and in particular the controversy about the Warwick tower it makes one wonder if it is incompetence or a deliberate attempt to mislead the public.

INFORMED Warwick