THE early morning SMSes say a lot.

A friend who has quit teaching said: "Really sad but true. Teachers never get a break. Now you know why I left."

Another message from a former student, who is now a teacher, read: "Sir, I totally understand what this guy is going through. I'm still going back to school to clear plenty of stuff.

"It's not really a holiday. We are expected to work while on holiday. And it can be worse for those in positions of responsibility.

"It is no excuse for what he did, but I feel he needed a good break which he is not getting."

They were referring to The New Paper's Page 1 report yesterday.

It was indeed a sad event for a young pupil to watch his teacher kneeling and begging for forgiveness after he had been accused of shoplifting.

Then to watch him being led away by the police, handcuffed, for the alleged offence.

Sadder still, for me, is the assertion by the teacher.

He was "stressed, in a daze" and "did not really know what was happening" to him.

One particular quote from the disturbed teacher stood out:

"Although it is now the school holidays and I'm not physically at work, my mind is not taking a break.

"I have been constantly worrying about it (a project he had been assigned). I cannot help but bring my emotions from work back to my home."

Stress, whether it is work or family, should not be an excuse for committing an offence. People should learn to cope with it. And I accept that.

But these things happen.

There are times when there is so much weighing on the mind that one loses one's sense of perspective.

And I, for one, do sympathise with our teachers.

I do believe that he is not the only one spending his holidays in a daze.

There are many more out there who are weighed down by the problems of their students and schools, wondering what would be the best course of action when term reopens.

It does not help that there are some, not many, school leaders out there obsessed with good academic results, winning multiple awards and leaving their legacies behind.

The emphasis on pupil welfare, pupil-centred learning is so much the norm that those providing the welfare and the learning - the teachers - are a forgotten lot.

They have to work through the holidays, at times at the expense of their own children and families, making hollow the call for a work-life balance.

All of which adds to the stress of an already tough job.

And the results of failing to deal with stress can be disastrous - as this teacher found out.