Sir, - "Give us the boy before he's 12, and we'll give you the man." Back in the days when I was being educated, this was the watchword of the Jesuits, who knew a thing or two about larnin'. An excellent aspiration, indeed.
The ideal education should encompass not only the three Rs, but also go some way towards encouraging teamwork, and showing youngsters civilised ways, such as politeness and respect towards one's elders. The importance of a school uniform (or, at very least, neat attire) correctly worn, cannot be overstressed, instilling, as it does, the dress discipline required for later life in a bank or office.
Similarly, mutual respect, from teacher to pupil and vice versa, lays the foundations for successful inter-personal relationships in a work environment.
Awareness of the dangers of the world at large (the greatest of which, nowadays, is indubitably the scourge of illicit drugs) should also come under the scope of education. Emphasis on these basics of etiquette, acceptable behaviour, and preparedness for the pitfalls of life, rather than merely on examination subjects, sets the really good school apart from the run-of-the-mill institution.
It was enlightening, therefore, to read in your edition of December 8th that the Government-backed drug-prevention programmes devised by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs are being adopted by "a great many but by no means all schools in the country" - presumably those who look to an all-round education for their pupils, rather than just having an exam-winning strategy. Perhaps therein lies a criterion for choosing a suitable educational establishment for one's offspring?
However, it made your report on the facing page look even more mystifying and poignant, where the unfortunate principal of the school in Bray, who took the only step possible to protect his pupils from the approaches of a fellow-student who not only openly smoked cannabis, but also apparently distributed it in the school (expulsion of the perpetrator), is now, after having been successfully challenged by the blinkered local VEC in the second highest court in the land, facing financial ruin and possible suspension and dismissal. - Yours, etc.,
D.K. Henderson, Castle Avenue, Clontarf, Dublin 3.