Madam, - Sean Flynn (Education Today, November 4th) takes a feeble swipe at school principals ("They were at it again. . ..") and proceeds to make inflated claims for the efficacy of tables such as the one printed below his article (listing the schools that supplied students to the University of Limerick).
Can he really claim that such a list really assists parents making that "pivotal" choice of school to reach a full understanding of what a particular school can offer to a child?
Does it meet one parent's need for "as much information as I can get"? Is Sean Flynn in a position to provide the answers to the enquiries about particular schools, apart from referring to his lists?
The National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD) is actively examining school accountability and the process of communicating an objective profile of schools in order to afford parents the opportunity to make balanced and informed choices.
The NAPD is deeply concerned about disadvantage, but we doubt if covering acres of newsprint with names of schools will prompt the steps required to make education more equitable.
A school is a rich and complex organism, not susceptible to encapsulation in a list. It would be marvellous to see the education media reaching responsibly for an understanding of this, rather than for a simplistic and often sensationalised league table. - Yours, etc.,
DEREK WEST, President, NAPD, c/o Newpark School, Blackrock,
Co Dublin.