Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 2:

In page 6, line 26, to delete “fit and proper” and substitute “qualified”.

The amendment relates to the circumstances in which the Teaching Council would not admit a teacher to the register. A teacher must meet certain criteria, including the council being satisfied that he or she is a "fit and proper" person to be admitted to the register. My amendment proposes to delete this provision and replace it with the word "qualified". The reason is that the term "fit and proper" is too vague, amorphous, subjective and open to interpretation and implies a desire for homogeneity of teachers, that we want robot teachers. We do not. The rest of the section deals in great detail with the need for vetting and vetting disclosure, all of which is entirely legitimate. There is no question but that teachers should be properly vetted in order that they are not a danger to the children they teach. Why, when all of that is in place, does one have to throw in a term such as "fit and proper", given its subjectivity?

Arguably, the best teachers are those who are not very proper. During my school days some of my best teachers were the improper ones. I will never forget an English teacher I had, Mr. Kelleher, who inspired my love of English literature such that English became my favourite subject. He used to do crazy things such as jump up and down like a chimpanzee on the teacher's desk to get the attention of students and make a point. He did all sorts of funny, humorous and odd things that one might describe as a little improper. It was often the improper and slightly quirky teachers who captured the imagination of students and inspired them, rather than those who might be though of as "fit and proper". The term is too vague, amorphous and subjective and smacks too much of conformity, which is not necessarily a good qualification for teaching. This is the basis on which I propose we remove it and insert the more precise term, "qualified".

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