LIKE Rosemary Goring, I was not greatly enamoured of the sciences and maths even though I was at a single-sex school in the 1950s (“Single-sex science classes is an experiment worth trying”, The Herald, February 14.)
Later, when becoming a mature student at teacher-training college aged 32, I opted to study woodwork and metalwork (W&M) for one of my subjects. My husband was rather amused by my choice but I reasoned that, as I was good at sugarcraft and making celebration cakes and there must be a relationship somewhere, I should be rather adept at making things from wood and metal.
I was rather surprised to find that I was the only female in the class of teenage boys embarking on their studies to become teachers.
I loved the W&M classes. They gave me a life-long interest in “structure” and the “whys and wherefores”’ of the things we use. Part of the course, as well as the practical, was studying ergonomics, design and material sources.
At the end of the first year I did manage to make a rather intriguing “objet”’ which my husband thought impressive but said that he had no idea what it was. Neither had I but I had enjoyed working on it. I said that it was abstract art.
As for those Stem subjects, or some parts of them, it is never too late to learn.
Thelma Edwards,
Hume,
Kelso.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here