My heart goes out to Mr Timothy Liau Ke Qin, who was bullied because the perpetrator thought it was "fun" (Teach students to develop empathy for others, March 20).

However, I have to agree with

Ms Amy Loh Chee Seen that relying on schools to impart empathy is going to be an endless task (Don't wait for schools to teach empathy, March 23).

There has been much discussion lately in the Straits Times Forum page about the large class sizes in public schools.

On top of a heavy teaching and marking workload, teachers have administrative duties that can take up the entire day in school.

To add to their burden, they get calls from parents - it is common these days for parents to have the personal phone numbers of their children's teachers - making demands at night, on public holidays and on their days off.

Some parents also have no qualms about shouting at teachers and insulting them on the phone.

Unfortunately, many educators have little recourse in the face of such abuse.

Having been an educator for more than 20 years, I believe that many teachers do seize teachable moments during their lessons to impart moral values to their students.

However, what moral prerogative do teachers have to teach empathy towards others, when students observe their own parents bullying their teachers and getting away with it?

As is often said, moral values are caught and not taught.

Sophia Tan