But I find that the dumbest kids in my class, and believe me they bordered on...let's say eccentric (to put it mildly) were better equipped in reading/writing etc than kids today -- and it is just because of all the pussy footing around, reactive tinkering with something that was not broken in the first place and took hundreds of years to build. Square peg in round hole: Too many kids go to college when they could be debt-free learning practical trades that would see them one day with their own business and earning good money! I think if a teacher is able to teach the meat and potatoes, life skills can be incorporated into it!