Sir, – I take my hat off to the Perthshire school that has banned pupils using mobile phones in school (“Perthshire school calls time on phones”, Courier, September 5).
I wish that more educational institutions would follow the sensible decision taken by the headmistress.
It surely isn’t just this one school where pupils are not concentrating on their education?
Wednesday’s Courier also featured a blind woman scared to go out in case she is knocked over by pedestrians lost in their phones (“Blind pensioner fears going out after collisions with mobile phone users”).
People too busy playing with their electronic toy are a danger to blind people, because they do not look where they are going and can cause an accident to an innocent person who – because of an affliction –may have either impaired sight or none at all.
These people are trying to live as normal life as possible – not easy when you consider all the other obstacles blind people have to face.
I also think this obsession with the mobile phone is responsible for the huge rise in mental problems with young people.
They get on a bus and this thing is in their hand, they hardly have time to sit down before their fingers are all over it.
When we were young we wouldn’t have known what someone was talking about if they mentioned mental health.
Is it possible that too much worrying about what someone is saying about you on social media is responsible?
June Reid.
12 Findhorn Street,
Dundee.
Teachers guilty of hypocrisy
Sir, – At a time when Roman Catholic schools are fighting to retain their faith distinction as well as their credibility in an ever-increasingly secular society, it strikes me as more than a little hypocritical that a number of promoted teachers in Roman Catholic primary schools choose not to send their own children to Roman Catholic schools.
Increasingly, these teachers tend to favour non-denominational private schools such as Dundee High.
Whilst I acknowledge that we have a free market economy and that every parent has a right to choose what they consider to be the best education for their offspring, I do think it nothing but hypocrisy that the schools in which these teachers govern are ones they regard good enough for other parents’ children but not good enough for their own.
It all seems akin to a chef who chooses not to eat in his own restaurant.
In the past, I have raised this apparently unpalatable issue with the Catholic hierarchy and in particular Catholic representatives on the local education committee.
Their rather prickly response was along the lines of; “Well, what can we do, we can’t force them”.
Yet, if they had a will to do it, I’m certain they could find a way.
Surely it could be a condition of being appointed and remaining in an influential promoted post that the successful candidate must demonstrate a continued commitment to the faith and to the Catholic state sector.
I know that if I was a parent of a child in a Catholic state school in which the headmaster or depute chose to send their own children to non-Catholic schools, I would find their school assembly and parent newsletter endorsements of the Catholic ethos rather hollow.
I should say that I have no grudge to bear against the Catholic church; in fact, I was brought up a Catholic and went to two very decent Catholic schools.
However, these days, especially in light of the actions of a rotten few priests and the barrel of consequent cover-ups, I am less than convinced that any one religion has all the answers.
Jamie Buchan.
Grove Road,
Dundee.
Brexit is like a conditional offer
Sir, – Sharing the platform with Mitch Benn, Rory Bremner, Gavin Esler, Steve Richards and others at the Edinburgh People’s Vote rally recently was a young business woman whose analogy of the Brexit deal was roughly as follows:
Having been looking for a new home for some time, you find a house that fits all your requirements and is in a desirable area, then proceed to make a conditional offer.
However, with due diligence, you commission a survey of the property and find it has major structural defects.
Do you proceed with the offer?
Or, as common sense would dictate, would you withdraw?
This analogy surely encapsulates why the argument for a so-called “People’s Vote” on any Brexit deal must be pursued rigorously and with due diligence.
Ian Auchterlonie.
93 Denoon Terrace,
Dundee.
Baseless claims are predictable
Sir, – I must yet again challenge Jenny Hjul’s analysis of current political events.
It would appear that her column has – unsurprisingly – been used to slander the SNP.
Your correspondent claimed (Courier, September 5) that “The activists of the Yes movement should not underestimate the damage that has been done to their party”.
Ms Hjul must surely know that the Yes movement is a broad church – encompassing people of all parties and none – including Labour and Conservative Yes supporters.
The First Minister has said that the movement behind independence is bigger than her, or Alex Salmond, or the SNP – so why is the whole “SNP is the Yes movement” line being pushed again?
She further claims that “the SNP is split from top to bottom.”
Yet she provides no actual argument, other than regurgitating spin from unionist newspapers.
The SNP is not split, although the same could not be said of Labour and the Conservatives.
Labour’s bitter infighting between the Blairites and the Corbynistas continues – and the Tories are no better, constantly competing between one bad Brexit or another.
Jenny Hjul once again misrepresents the facts to fit her world view, and her continuous hypocritical claims are, as usual, baseless.
Lloyd Melville.
East Garden Cottage,
Duntrune.
Time to ignore the day job?
Sir, – Could all the people who have been urging Nicola Sturgeon to “get on with the day job” please stop?
Judging by the feeble Programme for Government she thinks “day job” means Brexit, Indyref2, Alex Salmond and avoiding any meaningful debate at the upcoming SNP conference.
If we all ask her to “ignore the day job” she might focus on sorting out the NHS, education, housing and social care.
Allan Sutherland.
1 Willow Row,
Stonehaven.
Show was a huge success
Sir, – Dundee is about to unveil its latest cultural attraction with the opening of the V&A.
Fortunately Dundee has many cultural attractions that will compliment this fantastic new asset.
One of them – the Dundee Schools Music Theatre –gets better every year.
DSMT is not just about putting on a show, it is about building skills for life, team work and friendship.
It crosses all divides and allows pupils from all the city schools to unite in joint productions, building friendships and eliminating inter-school rivalries.
Four shows have been performed this year, culminating in last week’s performances of The Phantom of the Opera at the Whitehall Theatre.
This show had to be seen to be believed and reached a standard beyond the ability of many professional productions – it was truly spectacular.
A pit orchestra of a size rarely seen in the theatre today and of a quality many London theatres would be proud supported the singing wonderfully.
Fantastic sets and costumes were complimented by stunning lighting and amazing visual effects, every word was heard with an excellent sound system.
Choreography, stage management and musical direction was first class, allowing the young cast to truly excel.
The producer and the director must be very proud of this talented cast and the wonderful performance they gave.
All credit to our education system and our city for providing such an amazing experience for all the young people involved.
It was, of course, also a wonderful experience for the audiences.
Bob Duncan.
12 Ross Gardens,
Dundee.
