Sir, – Dr Cora Stack’s appraisal of the new project maths course is right on the money (March 16th), but I must take exception to her implication that calculus (which has been sorely relegated to the “old syllabus” section of the exam paper) is impractical.
As a graduate of engineering, which as a discipline could be reasonably mistaken for applied science, I can say with no doubt that calculus is just about the most practical mathematical tool at the disposal of the engineer.
The old course made a fluff of calculus as well, but if we want to boost maths and science, especially at tertiary level, then calculus needs to be granted a modern and compelling treatment at leaving cert level. – Yours, etc,