Sir, - I would like to take issue with Brian McCarthy's characterisation of the points system as democratic (October 14th). Democracy is about more than blind egalitarianism. It is about exercising choice. This time 10 years ago I was facing my final nine-month slog towards the Leaving Cert. I don't recall feeling that I had any choice in this.
Other countries manage their college admissions processes in perfectly transparent ways without imposing two years of misery upon their young people. Should we really have to wait until we attain that elusive place in college to discover that learning is actually fun? A standardised aptitude test would fulfil the same criteria of anonymity and a level playing field that the points system purports to provide, without imposing a rigidly competitive curriculum on students. This would enable the Department of Education to devise more flexible curricula that might include subjects such as civic and political affairs, and even driving lessons.
If you're interested in teaching the next generation how to be good citizens of a functioning democracy, that is a far healthier way to do it than locking them in their studies for two of the most formative years of their lives, just so they can compete in the points race. - Yours etc., Michele Griffin,
Prince Street, New York 10012, USA.