Poverty and education

Sir, – I have little knowledge of the people involved in the running of Dundee City Council, which I am ashamed to admit, and little opinion on the workings and policies of each party – again my mistake.

However reading about the bickering/ condemnation of a councillor who commented on how poverty affects the progress of children’s education (“Criticism of education comments is ‘utter drivel’, says leader” The Courier, April 2), I must comment myself.

Gregor Murray and John Alexander are correct. Speaking from a long teaching career, I can confidently say that no matter what new initiatives are implemented, no matter how many staff are employed, how much money is thrown at the problem, there will always be some, and I emphasise some, children who just “don’t get it”.

I’ve found there are those who will readily grasp a task/concept no matter what it is, those who will succeed after a time with help, and those who just don’t. It’s a fact. Who’s at fault? The first five years of a child’s life will go a long way in forming how that child will progress.

Many children just don’t get the attention and guidance they need in the early years. That’s not the school’s fault.

I applaud Gregor Murray for being realistic and speaking the truth. Gerard Dignan. 17E Denhead Cres, Dundee.

Each year these highly paid incompetents somehow manage to justify awarding themselves a sizeable bonus, whilst the rest of the NHS local services continue to struggle to cope with the pressures placed on them by the deadly combination of evil Tory funding cuts and dreadful senior management incompetence