(cont)  Schools have huge responsibilities today.....far more than when you and I were students.  There are more single-parent families with increased stress on that single-parent; there are more parents involved in drug/alcohol abuse; there are more kids who are homeless; there are more kids who, themselves, are drug/alcohol involved;  then, of course, we taxpayers have decided teachers are overpaid, class sizes too small, and we need to "cut some corners"..no more music, no more vocational classes; no more PE; etc... we've eliminated many of the very programs which helped marginal students "stay" in school and graduate.

  .......I apologize for ranting and rambling....but, as I look at today's schools, I get really depressed..  C'est la vie.....Gary Crum