Letter: Insult to teachers

Sir: I was seriously considering a teaching career until now.

I am a 28-year-old arts graduate with two degrees. For the past five years I have taught English as a foreign language in private language schools. This experience with primary school children made me think about returning to England and contributing to the education of British children.

I had thought that my 11 O-levels, including maths, physics and chemistry, would be more than adequate for placement on a post-graduate certificate of education course. I had of course expected some training in education, child psychology, teaching methods and so on. I was also quite prepared for a loss of status and lower wages. However, I do not intend to sit remedial maths exams, or to pore through A-level maths books ("All teachers must take maths test", 4 February). Mr Blunkett's latest plans are an insult to my intelligence and training.

No, Mr Blunkett, I will not be returning to England to become a primary school teacher. However, there are a few thousand unemployed maths teachers here in Greece. Do you think that if I teach them adequate English they could come and fill the gap? Perhaps, they could contribute to the foreign language skills of schoolchildren, too!

MARINA ROBB

Athens