Sir, – I must take issue with Jennifer O'Connell's article "Fairy tales have no place in the classroom" (Life & Style, March 9th). In referring to her children's schools and the absence of religion on the curriculum, she is describing the US public school system. She has chosen to ignore the many thousands of faith-based schools in America, especially the parochial school system in existence since the 18th century.
As a parent of children who attended these schools over many years and as a teacher who taught in them, I can attest to the fact that religion is very definitely a core subject on the curriculum. In addition, it is commonly accepted that, in general, these schools outperform the public schools, academically.
Whether religion should be taught in school (or the number of hours devoted to it) is a legitimate topic for debate, but Ms O’Connell’s reference to core Christian beliefs as “fairy tales” is gratuitously offensive to people of faith.– Yours, etc,
CARMEL KEOGH,
Killiney, Co Dublin.
Sir, – John Bellew (March 11th) informs us that "faith is always a personal choice". This is patently untrue. If the choice of one's faith was personal, then the children of Catholic parents would be as likely to be Lutherans, Muslims, or even atheists, as Catholic. This is the problem with fairy stories in the classroom – children absorb a faith position through indoctrination rather than choice. – Yours, etc,
KEVIN BUTLER,
Fairview, Dublin 3.