Pupils from poorer areas vote with their feet

PUPILS are voting with their feet. More than half the students in poorer areas are dropping out of school before their Leaving Cert, according to a recent report.

Perhaps it is time to delete lessons pupils don’t want: one Gaelscoil in Co Kerry has decided not to teach English for the first two years. (Irish Examiner, October 13).

Similarly, the schools in Dublin should be able to write their own curriculum, and teach less Irish. There is a cultural disparity between the INTO and the poorer areas of Dublin.

One teacher there told me: “I don’t teach. I crowd control.” Survival of the written word now depends more on texting than on teachers. Pupils should be allowed to vote with their feet.

Dominic O’Neill

368 Lr Kimmage Road

Dublin 6W