A Chara, – In his critique of the Irish education system and the quality of its teachers, your education correspondent (Joe Humphreys, Weekend, November 22nd) fails to mention a number of significant factors which cannot be measured by test results or performance – levels on international comparisons of education performance.
As the American educator and writer Diane Ravitch comments, “when we reflect on why education matters we think of virtues that are not and cannot be measured: character, curiosity, responsibility, persistence, generosity, compassion, creativity, moral courage”.
Good teachers and good schools constantly strive to promote these virtues and often with insufficient State support. My colleague, who teaches in a mixed first/second class with 35 students, would love to find herself in class tomorrow morning with that “average” number of 24.
I would like to invite any commentator, journalist or politician to gather that number of people in to a small room for a day and keep them merrily on task, from nine o’clock in the morning until three o’clock in the afternoon, not forgetting the 10-minute break mid-morning and the half-hour break for lunch – unless of course it is your yard-duty day.
It is not an easy task. And it requires huge investment and expertise. – Is mise, etc,
COLIN QUIGLEY,
Trim,
Co Meath.