Madam, – The tired old moans of the need for curriculum reform and awarding bonus points for maths and science at Leaving Certificate abound again this summer.
The key to solving the problem of lack of interest in these subjects is simple. The answer is innovation – in teaching methodology, the format of classes and methods of assessment.
The final written-exam culture on which everything appears to ride is outdated and ineffective.
Has the Department of Education and Science conducted research on teaching methods and course content that have worked effectively in our European neighbours’ classrooms? We most certainly have the capacity to seek out best practice – such as the techniques of problem-based learning – and model ourselves on it. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – On the 40th anniversary of the civil rights watershed in Northern Ireland, could I appeal to you and your colleagues in The Irish Timesto grant civil rights to those children of the State who get an E or F or NG in mathematics in the Leaving Certificate?
Year in and year out your paper insists on using the outdated and frankly classist label "failure" for those children who are not gifted at the most difficult mode of thinking – mathematical – asked of them in their youth. The concept of "failure" was abolished by an enlightened Department of Education, over 30 years ago, but like the regime at Stormont that would not face its discriminatory policies for almost 50 years, The Irish Times, for regrettably your paper is to the forefront in this (see August 11th edition), uses the derogatory term "failure" for a section of our youth who, having secured one of the lower grades, have not the heart to stand up and ask to be treated with respect by having their grade acknowledged in a proper and formal way.
Most science and technology courses, from which those who get less than a D are barred, would not interest many of the students anyway. But even if that were not so, this year’s results do not deserve talk of failure rates at all. The numbers are extremely good: across all three maths levels, 8.8 per cent of the students got into the bottom 40 per cent of the marks, ie an E, F or NG, while an astounding 62 per cent got into the top 40 per cent. The bias is all towards high results.
The best way we can celebrate this is by affording those who get an E, F or NG grade their civil and personal rights not to be branded as failures. – Yours, etc,