Madam, - As a teenage boy preparing for the Leaving Cert, I was appalled by Mary Hanafin's remarks (January 18th) regarding our supposed incapacity for "independent, self-directed learning".
To make such a generalisation would be akin to my saying that I believe middle-aged women are incapable of acting as senior Ministers. - Yours, etc.,
PAUL REIDY, Bushfield Terrace, Donnybrook, Dublin 4.