Australians should not bemoan our dip in education standards as the OECD publicises rankings for their Programme for International Student Assessment (We’re dumb, they’re dumber, 6/12). The maths and reading skills of 15-year-olds has fallen over the last 20 years, but the propagation of philosophies by climate alarmists and the Extinction Rebellion movement are surely having impact on both youth suicide and motivation to learn. With leftist elements advising primary school aged children that their parents cannot tell them what to do, surely the seeds for self discipline and the development of good study habits are undermined. While reading skills might include either the love of books, oration, speech making, dictation or composition, the real contribution to learning is the development of comprehension and communication skills. In this digital age when children are texting and communicating daily, the nature of their literacy has changed, but they are surely not dumber. Alan Sexton, North Parramatta 7Dec2023