Madam, - Ruth Borland is to be heartily congratulated, and not only for obtaining maximum 600 points in her Leaving Certificate (Education Today, September 20th).
The real merit is that she set herself an extremely tough target and then single-mindedly took the action necessary to achieve it.
These are a lesson and an accomplishment that will serve her all her life and lead to great contentment. Whether she eventually wants to achieve greatness in science, the arts, the business world, motherhood, public service or all the above, she now indubitably has the tools to do so.
Too few of us know what we want out of life, and even fewer have the determination to achieve it. - Yours, etc,
TONY ALLWRIGHT, Killiney, Co Dublin.
Madam, - Would some of your letter writers please get a grip? Ruth Borland did fantastically well in her Leaving Cert. The first thing she studied was the system. She figured out how it worked then put in the required amount of effort to get the result that she wanted.
Every student who sits an exam should study only what is required for that exam. It is basic common sense.
There is an enormous difference between education and passing an exam. Don't get annoyed at the strategic approach adopted by Ms Borland; get annoyed at the one-dimensional Leaving Cert. - Yours, etc,
GARY FITZGERALD, Kilmacow, Waterford.
Madam, - After reading Ruth Borland's description of how she succeeded in acquiring 600 points in her Leaving Cert, I can't but admire her focus and tenacity and congratulate her on her success.
However, if achieving maximum points means "learning the formula and practising it endlessly" and worse still, that there was "no point in knowing about stuff that's not going to come up in exams", then I suggest we cease to call this functional system "education", as it has failed to prepare Ruth for an enriched and enhanced life, as a holistic education would have. - Yours, etc,
EMILY LEONARD, Strokestown, Co Roscommon.