Madam, - The debate is beginning all over again on the problem of our national underachievement in maths and science at Leaving Certificate level. And let us all agree that such a weakness in education is a matter of deep concern in a world where technological skill is becoming a pre-requisite for personal as well as national advancement.
Such a problem is not limited to our own country. It is equally a concern for many other Western societies. But there is a possible solution that has been tried elsewhere with considerable success. It has to do with the holistic approach to education rather than with more calculators and bigger, better computers in the classroom.
Research findings from the United States suggest that by combining maths and music children, especially those from disadvantaged groups, can improve their numerical skills. Experiments in the UK have also shown that the teaching of music skills such as rhythm can have a direct effect on the understanding of mathematical concepts and even on IQ levels.
Mathematics is as much a language as a science, and needs to be addressed as such. Most aspects of the science side of the second-level curriculum could benefit from a relationship with the arts.
In his book The Arts and the Creation of Mind, Elliot Eisner lists ten "lessons the arts teach", including improved judgments in relationships, multiple solutions skills, awareness of multiple perspectives, problem-solving, awareness of cause and effect, improved communications, and a model of the world from an adult perspective.
No-one really questions the advantages of sports training or visual art teaching in school. We need to adopt the same attitude to the teaching of music and drama. We need to give teachers already dedicated to such ideas the syllabus with which to operate.
The effect on maths and science could be remarkable. - Yours, etc,
ALAN STANFORD, Pearse Street, Dublin 2.
Madam, - I read with great interest your interviews with three students who had recently left second-level education ("Talking 'bout our generation", August 15th). I was surprised that all three displayed an affection for the Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil.
As a regular reader of these columns since I started my third-level education five years ago, I had come to the conclusion that I was the only person under 50 years of age who voted for Fianna Fáil. - Yours, etc,
ROBERT ROONEY, Oristown, Kells, Co Meath.