Teaching of history under attack yet again

I CONCUR with the academics from Mary Immaculate College Limerick and the students from Presentation College Cork (Letters, Sept 30) that dropping humanities from the school curriculum will have a detrimental impact on teacher education and the teaching of history in schools.

In my former life, as a literary tutor, I found that my students with weak literacy skills were very receptive to the teaching of history.

Indeed study of the subject improved their reading and writing skills; history motivated them.

Is it not revealing that it is always under the watch of Labour Ministers for Education — Niamh Breathnach in the last coalition and Ruairi Quinn today — that the teaching of history is under attack. I can only reach the conclusion that having abolished James Connolly politically, the Labour party now wants to abolish him historically.

Michael O’Donnell

Old Youghal Road

Cork