. . . and some of those same students now find themselves in very highly placed corporate and government management positions. That's why I believe we are having so many problems in both the public and private sectors having to do with ethics, honesty, morality, and all the ever more frequent apologies for misspoken words. Sadly, many of the old signposts, that used to guide senior management, were either never taught or, if taught, were obscured in the mind of the student by other aspects of the culture of the 60's, 70s and 80s.

Yet there is hope, Doyle; I see hope in the form of our own children, now in their mid-40s, who adhere strictly to the "old ways" and the "old morality," and in some of our neighbor's kids who, also, are no longer kids, but young adults with their heads on straight. The last time I saw such evidence was at a grandson's high school graduation and another grandson's graduation from naval flight school. All is not lost. The Titanic can, and I believe - will be turned around.

Every once in a while, I turn to my Mississippi grandparent's, and great grandparent's text books, two of which I am fortunate enough to have, complete with their signatures on the inside front covers, "Composition and Rhetoric," by Quackenbos, 1875, and "Familiar Science, or The Scientific Explanation of Common things," by R.E. Peterson, 1855 and am reminded of how much knowledge, once considered important, if not vital, has been dropped out of today's K - 12 curriculum - squeezed out by federally mandated USOE and latter curriculum "enhancements" and administrative compliance programs - the sole purpose of which is political in nature, having little if anything to do with real 21st century educational needs, but a lot to do with votes and voters.

Wish it were possible to transplant some of the 19th century, one-room schoolhouse teaching practices and content into 21st century schools.