Clean sweep on the design debate

7th January 2000, 12:00am

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Clean sweep on the design debate

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/clean-sweep-design-debate
THANK you, James Dyson for your excellent letter and to The TES for printing it (December 17).

A recognition that there are more forms of literacy than “letteracy” is long overdue among education policy makers.

As all the recent refinements in scanning techniques are beginning to reveal, there is more going on in the human head than anyone may have previously realised.

We all, it seems, have a facility for more than one mode of intelligence. The 3D “visual-spatial” sort is as useful to us and productive as is the linear one-dimensional aspect of words and numbers.

Please, will the education uthorities begin to make provision for those who learn best via the visual-spatial form of intelligence as well as for those who work within the linear word-based forms?

Cutting down the options for pupils to take design and practical construction classes makes the imbalance of the present curriculum worse.

We need a rational curriculum rather than a “national” one. No improvement in literacy will occur until we start teaching people in the way they can best learn.

Susan Parkinson

General secretary

Arts Dyslexia Trust

Lodge Cottage

Brabourne Lees

Ashford, Kent


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