Jo Knowsley (“Caught in a web of jargon”, 17 August) can probably imagine how much jargon I had to ingest in my 37-year teaching career. Buzz words and phrases were always spouted. Most of them had been repackaged from a 1970s version.

This brings me to Stephanie Gibson’s letter to TES (“Phonics is flawed, don’t you agree?”, 10 August). In my last year at college in 1973-74, I completed my dissertation on the teaching of reading. My conclusion was that one had to use a variety of methods to teach reading in the English language. The debate has raged on for another 40 years since then, when the majority of teachers such as Gibson have the answer already. Does the discussion keep people in work, I wonder?

Rebecca Durston, Retired headteacher, Great Dunmow, Essex.