EDUCATION: Psst: Money not the issue

Y'know, I mean, y'know, what is this mess labeled "education" today? Just for kicks, I'd like to compare my education.

My day started with a real breakfast at home. Then I picked up my lunch bucket and walked a mile and a half, in snow, rain or zero weather to the school. (We had no obese students.) It was an old, large house converted to four classrooms. Four teachers, a principal and a part-time maintenance man served 160 students in eight grades. There was no kitchen, no lunch room, no library, no gym, no busses. The playground was a gravel lot with two basketball hoops.

We did not have backpacks because there was no homework. All instruction occurred in the classroom. Were the teachers stressed? They seemed to enjoy their job, even though their salaries were blue-collar level.

Was I short-changed on learning? Prior to any college, I applied for the U.S. Air Force Aviation Cadet Program and scored the highest grade ever recorded. Later, I applied to a major university and was informed I was one of the best-prepared students they had seen. The point is that more money does not improve education. Common sense works everywhere, every time.

BRUCE McKAY

Hayden