Letter: Reading gaol

AS AN English teacher for nearly 40 years, I am horrified to learn of the education secretary’s intention to make study of a Scottish text compulsory for Higher English (your report, 25 January).

I am further horrified that Liz Lochhead supports the idea as she is a writer for whom I have the highest regard and whose poetry I have “used” many times in teaching Higher.

That is rather the point – I taught her work because I wanted to and because she is good, not because I had to have a Scottish writer.

I taught MacCaig and Mackay Brown and Crichton Smith because they are brilliant writers and not because I had to. To me this proposal appears to be a kind of tokenism and sends entirely the wrong message to our young people – we’re daein it because we hiv tae!

Another problem is what will constitute a Scottish text. Does the author have to be Scottish or does he/she have to live in Scotland or does the text have to take place in Scotland? It strikes me that there are too many pitfalls in this area.

Those in favour of the idea will argue that too many schools are not doing Scottish texts at all at present.

If this is the case I suggest a positive programme in our schools and colleges to encourage the use of Scottish texts because of their inherent merit and not this compulsion.

I remember the sighs of relief we teachers had years ago when the prescribed texts were got rid of – please let’s not bring them back in this other form.

John Pole

Rowan Avenue

Kirriemuir