THANK goodness for James Dyson speaking up about the potential demise of design and technology (TES, May 24) due to the Green Paper recommendations. Since its publication most attention has been focused on the loss of modern foreign languages.
However, the removal of Damp;T - the youngest subject on the curriculum - because it is expensive to run and the recruitment of teachers is difficult, is a sad reflection on government attempts to stimulate innovation and creativity in schools. This at a time when the rest of the world is adopting our model.
Damp;T is the most demanding, speculative, exciting, and innovative subject on the curriculum.
David Hargreaves, former head of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, believes that other subjects can learn from how Damp;T is delivered and what has been the largest curriculum development activity in the history of education.
Computer-based initiatives are fantastic examples of using new technology effectively, yet we are likely to be denying many pupils the opportunity to engage with the very risk-taking, high-end technology this country will rely on in the future.
The biggest problem we face is ignorance as most people do not know what Damp;T is about. The subject is constantly evolving and continues to reinvent itself, therefore what you saw 10 or even five years ago will be very different from what you would see today.
We now need more people to stand up for the subject.
David Spendlove
Senior lecturer
John Moores University
Great Orford Street
Liverpool
