Madam, - Kevin Myers needs some adjustment to the facts he presented in An Irishman's Diary on April 30th. He says and I quote: "Young people leave school today without the most basic life-skills: mortgages, money management, investments, the law, engineering computers, sexuality, the biosphere, road usage and even now, keyboard mastery".
Most of this is incorrect. I can safely say that I teach my senior classes all they need to know about buying a house, obtaining a mortgage, savings, money management, investments (secure, non-stockmarket). I discuss these issues with the class (they are all hugely interested in these topics incidentally) as well as how to decorate a house, cook ordinary and exotic meals, and keep house to an extremely high standard - also, how to dress properly for all occasions and present oneself for interviews.
The area of sexuality I deal with in religion or health education classes. The emphasis here is on respect for oneself and respect for others as well as on the science of human reproduction. My esteemed colleagues across the various disciplines teach about the environment, the law, computers as well as all the usual subjects - maths, English, etc.,
Kevin Myers should come to secondary schools and see what is going on now and forget about how it was in the dim, distant Latin, Greek and Pythagoras days when he graced the halls of academia. We have moved on; did he not know? We have a world-class education system on a shoestring, but then money is not everything - intelligent, interested and willing personnel are far more important! - Yours, etc.,
KATHLEEN LONG,
Cappry,
Ballybofey,
Co Donegal.