Steven, there are few times in history where government has made a decision within 5 years. I'm afraid my son and I are on our own regardless which path is taken.

When I grew up I had a dad who never passed the 4th grade and a mom who didn't make it much further. The difference between my son's education and my own is that he has a mentor in me and my wife. It's not a matter of luck, it's a matter of hard work.

I�ll give you one last thought to mull over. There was a period of time where I spent time with kids who were institutionalized as mentally ill. These kids were not all druggies or sociopaths. Some were kids from messed up homes with lousy parents. Some of them were absolutely brilliant and nearly all of them broke my heart. One thing that stuck with me was how even in such a dismal place (we are not as much out of the 1800�s as we may think) some of these kids still hung onto the hope of finishing school and making something out of themselves. They couldn�t deal with the day to day stresses, couldn�t understand what was happening, couldn�t make a decision for themselves yet they hung onto that ideal. I think part of me knows that mine and yours will end up OK and you and I really didn�t have it as bad as we like to portray. Yes, it�s my humble opinion that we owe it to ALL kids to build a system that allows them to reach their potential. I kind of like that thought.