Madam, - Brian Daly's comments on our schools (May 13th) are as timely as they are eloquent, with the Leaving Cert approaching fast. I speak as an observer of the school system and as a parent.
On the one hand, one should be grateful to The Irish Times, and to the late Christina Murphy in particular, for devoting more and more careful attention to education matters in recent years. And our political leaders are as ever eager to praise a "world-class education system", pointing to the employability of our young people. All well and good.
On the other hand it was, I think, Christina Murphy herself, or her editor perhaps, who gave us the phrase: "The Points Race". Personally, I am grateful for that phrase. Why? Because it names a fundamental reality in our school system, the fierce race for points.
It is, I believe, now uncontested that success in examinations in itself prepares young people for one thing only. To succeed in further examinations. What about the living of a life?
There comes a point when we must ask if exams, and the all-consuming competition for points, serve the need for true education. How does "learned-by-heart" information help a young person to live a full human life? What do our schools prepare young people for? What, that is, apart from passing exams and gaining points?
It is a serious question and I am pleased Brian Daly has raised it. - Yours, etc.,
AIDAN HAYES, Ráith Bridge, Falcarragh, Co Donegal.