Teachers have unique access to the country's children and teenagers.
Virtually every child goes to school, and teachers see their development, observe them, hear them, day in day out as they grow. They see changes, and are well placed to raise the red flag as they pick up on issues or concerns.
That's why when teachers express concern, as they often do at their annual trade union conferences, we should listen. Here’s what I picked up this year.
1) Senior cycle reform
Firstly, it's going ahead (but that was never in doubt).
At the ASTI and TUI conferences in Killarney and Wexford, second-level teachers expressed fear and misgivings about the imminent reforms.
In September a first tranche of subjects - including the main science subjects - will be revised, so that 40% of marks in each subject is awarded for work completed by students during the school year.
Most people recognise that the current system, with so much riding on written exams taken over a few short days in June, doesn’t suit many students. It is blamed for causing undue stress, and for preventing some from flourishing.
But many teachers fear that one kind of unfairness may simply be replaced with another; that the stress that some students feel most intensely as the June exams approach could simply be replaced by stress throughout the year.
They fear that students in less affluent communities, with poorer facilities, such as science labs, in the schools they attend will be disadvantaged.
At the ASTI conference in Killarney, science teacher Michael McGrath from Dungarvan said DEIS schools would be "wiped out" while private and grind schools reaped the benefits.
Teachers have professional concerns too. They fear AI. How can they judge, they ask, if a student’s work as part of a project to be assessed as part of their Leaving Certificate is really fully their own work? It is they who are being tasked with verifying that students' work is really theirs.
2) A new Minister for Education
When teachers raise concerns we do need to listen, but that doesn't mean that they are always right. Some fears and misgivings can be misplaced, others can be addressed.
Helen McEntee breezed into the teachers' conferences with the wind at her back. A new minister is always given the benefit of the doubt. She said she was there to listen. On senior cycle reform she acknowledged teacher concerns. She praised them, thanked them, said she wanted to work to address the issues they had raised. She agreed that more needed to be done to support teachers.
Talks are ongoing between the teacher trade unions and the department. At their conferences post-primary teachers backed those talks. Yes, the motion they passed does allow for industrial action, if necessary, but teachers agreed to wait for the outcome of those talks.
3) Junior cycle grades
And as evidence that she is prepared to listen, Helen McEntee came to the conferences bearing gifts, one for Junior Cycle students.
She announced a revamping of the grading system for Junior Cycle students. This is a change that teachers had requested. The top two bands - distinction and merit - have been widened, to make it easier for a student to achieve one of those two top grades. The changes come into effect immediately, for this year’s Junior Cycle students.
4) Top marks for the Minister at INTO too
"Ten out of ten," one primary school teacher remarked somewhat ruefully after Helen McEntee addressed primary school teachers. This was the minister’s very first Easter conference address, on Tuesday morning.
"I’m absolutely delighted to be here. Thank you for your welcome," were her opening words. There were no fewer than another five 'thank-you's' in her speech. She praised teachers from a height, for their "hard work" and dedication.
"Everyone in this room can be incredibly proud," she said.
'I’m on your side', was the message as she laid out her stall; more supports for disadvantaged schools, therapies for children with additional needs, new legislation to support teachers who are assaulted in the course of their work.
Who could argue with these intentions?
5) Primary concerns
At their conference in Galway primary school teachers raised lots of red flags.
They are hugely concerned about underfunding which means they struggle to support especially the most needy children, they are very worried about the lack of therapies for children with additional needs, including behavioural needs that prevent children traumatised by homelessness or drug addiction in their families, or bereavement, or neglect. All this prevents children from accessing learning.
They are concerned about the impact that social media is having - children accessing content online that is damaging them.
They see the impact of all this in their classrooms - day in, day out. Issues such as these were aired in Galway. We need to listen.
6) Younger teachers
The primary school-going population has grown considerable over the past decade and more.
That meant lots more teaching posts and those posts were filled by young teachers fresh out of college.
The age profile of primary teachers is very young. Those young teachers need homes. They need to be able to afford mortgages.
The fact that many can't is a big factor in the teacher shortage.
Too many are emigrating, too many are turning down jobs in places like Dublin in favour of closer to home where they can better afford to raise their young families.
Those younger teachers were out in force at the INTO conference. To its credit the union is managing to attract busy young mothers (it is a mostly female profession, and that’s another problem - children need male role models too) to attend as delegates and participate fully in their union.
Which brings me to babies, lots of babies. There was an inordinate amount of cooing and ogling of babies at the INTO Congress in Galway this week. Every year the number of young delegates with babies in tow grows.
7) Patronage
Population censuses show that younger people are less likely to be Catholic and the younger age profile of primary school teachers may well be a factor in the adoption by the union in recent years of policies directed at reducing the influence of the church in education.
Over the past two years the INTO has adopted a range of policies that they want to see introduced on this front.
They want responsibility for preparing children for the sacraments of communion and confirmation taken out of schools, and they also want the requirement that all teachers employed in Catholic primary schools have a Catholic religious education certificate removed.
8) Palestine
In Galway Minister McEntee was greeted with a protest demanding that the Government enact the Occupied Territories Bill.
In the auditorium at the INTO Congress, and at the TUI gathering, as the minister spoke delegates raised placards demanding this.
They applauded as she described the "barbarity" in Gaza as "a war on children".
Teachers care about children elsewhere too. In front of the cameras and press photographers they made that clear.
And on the last day of their conference, in private session, away from the media glare, a motion on Gaza called on schools to become "apartheid free zones". It was proposed, seconded, and when no speaker came to oppose it, passed by common assent.
