ANDREW Martin, in his Better Schooling letter (Echo, April 5)is not quite correct.

It is true that in a classroom, some kids catch on quicker than others. The ‘others’ are not necessarily thick.

It depends in many cases on the home-life of the children, and in some cases, their attention-span.

Some parents read to their children, some don’t. Some parents are ambitious for their children, to succeed in what is now a very competitive world. Some parents sacrifice for the needs of their children, some are selfish and do not.

Some children have a job to do, before they attend school, are consequently up earlier than other kids, and are more tired, in class.

Some children are from large families, and are at a disadvantage, not having one-to-one attention at home.

I also, can speak of the education in the old days. In the good old days, many teachers took the easy way out.

The easy way out was to spend more time in class, with the bright kids, who didn’t really need it. Spend not enough with those who did, and condemn many in the class as the ‘dead-end kids.’

I personally know some ‘dead-end kids’ who ended up in executive positions in this world. They were classed as ‘thick’ when they were at school. Some kids mature later than others.

I’ve seen ‘thick’ kids take on night-school and day-release classes, and be very successful. Some kids are academic by nature, some are more practical.

The differences are easily spotted from an early age. Teachers should lean towards giving every class member, understanding, respect, and an even share of their time.

The children will respect that.

You are even more of a dinosaur than I am, Andrew, and that is saying something.

Albert Douglas Gillen
Melbourne Street
Weymouth