Foul language is scarcely a new development among students. But did you spot the news about the Arizona lawmaker who has introduced a bill to forbid teachers to use filthy or profane language in the classroom?
The bill was prompted by a constituent who was so upset by a high school teacher's use of a particularly offensive vulgarity in the classroom that he withdrew his daughter from the school and is now homeschooling her.
A lot of good things go on in America's public schools, and the schools certainly are not to blame for all the behavioral problems and lack of achievement we see among too many students.
But in a number of ways -- and not all of them good -- we seem far from the era of simple "reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic" and "School days, school days, Dear old Golden Rule days."