Sir, – Alex Staveley (August 19th), blames the allegedly poor maths and science results in the Leaving Certificate on the religious patronage of 92 per cent of primary schools and asserts that religious thinking does not necessitate or nurture any logical skills.
He expects us to accept his assertion on his say so. He offers no evidence that pupils nurtured in the remaining 8 per cent of primary schools score better in maths or science.
I think Mr Staveley should get out more, perhaps to Newgrange or Cormac’s Chapel, the Pyramids, the Taj Mahal or other impeccable witnesses to the mathematical and scientific prowess of religious thinkers.
He might explain why, in the 20th century, the iconoclastic secularists Lenin and Atatürk imposed on their countries the calendar decreed by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582.
Mr Staveley might be surprised to learn that Pope Gregory was guided by Jesuit astronomers who had studied the heavens from the roof of the “Jesu”, a Consecrated edifice built using new scientific methods, for their newly established Order. He might even betake himself to Rome, where, in the morning, he might smell the coffee and enjoy it. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Greg Butler (August 20th) writes that when he sat his Leaving Certificate in 1964 everyone in his class got an honour in mathematics and he poses the question, was his class exceptional?
I don’t know whether his class was exceptional but he was one of a privileged group whether he knew it or not. In 1964 only 11,651 students sat the Leaving Certificate – approximately 20 per cent of those who completed primary school five years earlier.
Nowadays almost 90 per cent of those transferring from primary schools proceed to sit the Leaving Certificate. This fact alone has led to a dramatic change in the social and intellectual profile of the average student, which can cause considerable difficulties for schools and teachers.
The pupil teacher ratio in secondary schools in 1964 was 15:1 while it is now 19:1 and will be shortly raised to 20:1.
I agree with Mr Butler when he states that if the Minister for Education wants to increase the number of students taking honours maths that he should focus on the teaching of mathematics; but comparing a personal experience of nearly 50 years ago with the general situation today is akin to comparing apples with oranges. – Yours, etc,