Cameron wrong to label Holocaust educational experience a 'gimmick'

I was shocked, and not a little horrified, by David Cameron's labelling of the Visits to Auschwitz programme as a "gimmick". As one of two pupils from Queen Anne High to take part in the visit last September, I would hold it as one of the most educational experiences of my whole school career. I knew about the Holocaust but, for me, a visit to the death camps in Poland made it seem much more relevant and less like an event from the distant past.

On returning from our visit, myself and the other pupil who took part gave assemblies to all the year groups in the school to teach them about the Holocaust and the lessons we can learn from it.

Considering that I have actually spoken to people that thought the Holocaust was a place in Germany or barely even knew the word, any attempt to educate the younger generations about the increasingly forgotten events of the Holocaust should surely be commended, and not slandered, since only through education can we attempt to avoid a repeat of the crimes that took place in Auschwitz and other death camps.

DEIRDRE MITCHELL

Couston Street

Dunfermline, Fife

Harry Watson (Letters, 20 February) misses the point. School history as currently practised is a "hard" subject. SQA statistics show this and pupils know that it makes great demands of them in terms of reading, writing and thinking. Yet the subject is thriving in Scottish and English schools with high numbers of pupils of all abilities choosing it in S3 to S6. This is because it is generally taught very well by staff who have considerable freedom to choose the types of history that they teach and because pupils appreciate that history can strengthen their overall literacy skills as well as being interesting in itself.

However, the diet offered to learners has to remain varied to retain its appeal. I hope that there is some increase in the attention paid to Scottish history, but its place has to be within a framework that remains balanced in terms of the content, skills and insights that we offer our young people. Too many Jacobites would be just as dull as too many Nazis.

RICHARD L C DARGIE

Secretary, United Kingdom History Teacher Education Network

Charteris Land, Edinburgh

Andrew McWilliam (Letters, 23 February) hits the nail on the head with his scathing attack on those, especially within the educational establishment, who, either because of their blinkered political beliefs, vested interest, or perhaps due to irrational envy, deride elitism in education. Many of our "leading" politicians state publicly that Scotland should be "the best small country in the world" and other such headline making platitudes, while presiding over an education system where healthy competition is actively discouraged at all levels of education. How can we aspire to be the best, if our education system discourages our young people from achieving this by diluting and downgrading standards in every area of education so that no-one need feel a failure, and many can achieve a "pass" with the minimum of effort, and the resultant qualifications have less and less meaning?

Until our education system re-adopts properly competitive practices and a healthy level of "elitism", standards in education will continue to fall, and we will all be "bog-standard" in a "bog-standard" country. Our only boasts will be the high levels of illiteracy, poor numeracy, teenage crime, pregnancies, drunken-ness and drug abuse. Some best small country.

DOUGLAS HAMILTON

New Plymouth

East Kilbride