LETTERS.

Disturbing trend

I was profoundly disturbed by your article (C&I 1999, 694) describing the latest ideas of teaching chemistry with popular street music. Mind you, I'm not saying, 'don't do it', because it is better to do something than nothing at all. All the same, it is a sad reflection on the mentality of students that they need illiterate gutter music to teach them science.

The reason for the decline in science candidates is blindingly obvious. Few young people want to put the effort into something which involves a tremendous amount of work and, indeed, they are not encouraged to do so either by money or by any aspect of contemporary culture. The crude …