It goes back to the 60s, and maybe further. One of the "new education ideas" we've been saddled with for years, while the education system itself goes into the crapper.

I sit here listening to California's government and the teachers unions wailing about not enough money, slashing school programs, and dropping behind other states.

The problem is, the following two things are true:

--In constant dollars, we are spending three times the money per student as when I was in school as a youngster (late 60s).

--In constant dollars, teacher salaries over that same period have been basically flat--going up by a factor of only 1.08.

This is also true:

When I was young, I arrived at school the first day, and was assigned a desk. I would open it to find a stack of shiny new supplies--crayons, pencils, paper, a sharpener, a scissors, and most of what I'd need for school. Later, in my high school we had a fully equipped music department, an art department, and a theater department. We had shop facilities, home economics facilities, and sports up the wazoo. The shop facilities included big machine tools.

Years later, when my kids went to elementary school, we parents were given a long list of supplies to bring. Nothing was supplied. In addition, there was a list of general supplies we could donate: tissues, paper towels, and all the other things the school didn't supply. We did what we could, since it was not uncommon for teachers to make up the difference out of their own pocket.

This wasn't Beverly Hills, either. This was in lower-middle-class city apartment districts, and a small rural town.

You tell me what the hell is going on. I think we've been had. Big time.

For what it's worth, I opposed "No Child Left Behind" too. For one thing, the education system needs more Federal centralization like a Channel swimmer needs an anvil. We put men on the Moon without a Department of Education.

Just as an aside, it's remarkable how Ted Kennedy managed to file his serial numbers off of that fiasco.