Bill D, the only hope for our children is to keep them interested in reading and to encourage them to improve their ability to communicate and use their language. A difficult job considering that they are influenced by their peers. I understand the dramatic increase in private schools devoted to superior goals, and the similar increase in home schooling.

The degradation of language has been going on for many years, although uncommented on for a long time. The levels of proficiency attained by students reaching the college where I worked varied strongly, depending on where they received their high school education. Those of us reading the flood of essays prepared for various courses could almost pinpoint the school systems from which the proficient students graduated (this was in Texas and over 50 years ago).

Music has mostly disappeared except as an elective or after school activity. All I can suggest is, like, you know, get your kids a keyboard, guitar or whatever and teach them or have them taught, starting at kindergarten level or before.