Letter: Teachers' lore

MICHAEL MANSFIELD ("Educational apartheid could be lurking around the corner", 16 May) objects to the prevailing notion of education as product; the myth of choice; the awful competitiveness of headteachers who appear to have forgotten that they are part of a public service; the burden imposed on teachers; assessment mania and the cost of selection. The views he puts forward as new wisdom are utterly familiar and shared by the vast majority of teaching colleagues of my acquaintance, which is considerable as I work for a professional association. Somehow, we are failing to make ourselves heard - or is it because what we teachers say is of no account to those responsible for educational provision?

JOHN WALDER

Chartham, Kent