Sta,—To Charles Brand, our thanks! I write, not only as
a grammar school master, but also as a member of the dear old AMA, the Assistant Masters' Association.
After that disgraceful exhibition on the Tonight programme last week, when Sir Ronald Gould was given the run-around by some of his union mem- bers, grammar school men• know exactly where they would stand if the NUT Executive were to be in- vaded by these choice teachers. If the AMA stands for anything, it stands for a hierarchy in teaching. Some are worth more to the community than others, and the Government with the local authorities knows that perfectly well. It might not be a bad thing at all if the Government and the local authorities were to settle future salaries between them, with no help from the teachers' representatives.
We need a frank recognition of the fact that a sixth-form teacher is a rare bird, and must be en- ticed into teaching. We must stop the farce of calling a sixth-former of eighteen a secondary school child, while at the technical college down the road appren- tices on day-release are adults taught by lecturers. Five grades of teachers would be enough. The whole lot could be classified within a year. Nonsense such as the theorem that every teacher is equal to every other teacher must go. A new geometry of the situation is required. Please note, Sir David!
E. DAVISON
Rotherham Grammar School, Rotherham
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