Correspondence.

Otago Witness, Issue 1461, 15 November 1879, Page 11

Correspondence.

FREE PASSES TO TEACHERS.

TO THE EDITOR.

Sir, — In your issue of the Ist instant I notice a letter from a •' Surfaceman,'' who seems indignant at a request suggested by a Mr Stack . that deserving teachers ought to have railway free passes granted to them at Christmas time. Now, whether I am a deserving teacher or not, I beg to state that I, for one, do neither wish for, nor expect a free pass. If I take a trip by rail at Christmas or at any other time, I am quite willing to pay my full fare. From the tone of " Surfaceman's " remarks, I suspect that he would willingly accept of a free paes, if offered, and make no noise about it. About teachers' work and working hours, I would remark that a teacher's work is by no means .finished for tho day when the school is dismissed. I hrve now been a public school teaoher for several yeara, and I am not ashamed to add that during a portion of my life I was employed at honest manual labour — working, if I am not very far mistaken, much harder and for longer hours than Government surfacemen do here. Possessing, therefore, experience of both kinds of work, I am in a position to aessrt that thc> work of the teaoher is far harder and more exhausting than ordinary manual labour. For anything that I know, "Surfaceman " may possess the same experionce of both kinda of work that I have ; but if so, judging by his decision, he must have been a very lazy toacher. How doeg he find that teachers have three months of holidays out of the twelve, exclusive of Saturdays? I have less than half that time. However, lam content. Is he ?

I would sot havo noticed " Surfaceman's" letter were it not that a largo number of others think, I ata afraid, that teachers enjoy a very easy life. I do not think that teachers as a class interfere with other people's work or eojoyments, for they have enough to occupy their attention within thoir own sphero of labour. — I am, &c, A Teacher.