Harsh lessons

I would agree with John Munro (Letters 2 October) that the much-vaunted Scottish school education has in fact a long history of learning by rote.

My English teacher was furious when I told him I had chosen to answer a question in the Highers literature paper for which we had received no preparation, and assured me of failure – I passed.

I also had to plead with the headmaster to sit the Higher history exam (for which our small school had no class). I passed that too, with little help from teachers. I later spent a short spell as a trainee science teacher.

The “teaching” method of my mentor (in a well-known Glasgow school) was to read out prepared notes. Amusingly, if he strayed too far from his notebook he had to dive back to it before being able to continue – and he had been teaching that same stuff for 20 years!

That experience finally put an end to my idea of becoming a school teacher.

(DR) A MCCORMICK

Kirkland Road Terregles, Dumfries