Lol.  I guess my comment on not teaching history hit a nerve with Leigh.

It looks as if George caught the joke, but Leigh missed it, instead taking it personally as if I was speaking about her son and his cadre of friends.  I assure you that I was not, which makes Leigh's point for her;  I don't know her circle of family and friends.  I am glad that they are hard working, responsible individuals.  

A simple historical comparison of Western educational standards tends to buoy my contention that America is "dumbing down" it's public school system.  

The rise of leetspeak and twitch culture is real, otherwise the words would not be invented and used.  I know this as a participant in both.  Yes, I am 27 years in the title industry and both my wife and I play World of Warcraft regularly.  We are familiar with people who inhabit this world as founding members of the ECA (Entertainment Consumers Association) and followers of the Consumerist and Electronic Frontiers Foundation.  The statistics about this industry are clear.  The inability of participants to speak, spell or use proper grammar is abundantly clear.

I speak from direct personal experience with a vast array of snot nose punks who get free XBox, PlayStation, and Wii consoles from their parents and spend their hours gettin' stupid.  It once took TV (the old "boob tube") and graphic novels ("funny books" in grandpa's parlance) to get you close to Idiocracy, but were approaching it fast from other routes.  

I'm glad your experience is different and more  hopeful than mine.  Best of luck to you and yours.