I'd like to apologize for what I'm sure is going to be a long post but I hope you'll read it, take it all in, think about it and reply with some thought.     Ah yes, a question as old as time itelf! I recently caught up with a former teacher of mine and I asked the question I always ask if I bump into an old teacher of mine; "Are the kids now better than we were?" Now I like the teacher in question since he saw me through 8th grade to my late graduation and he was one of the people who caught