In regard to the school's need to re-emphasize the "Three Rs", the problem of so much time being taken up with non-academic subjects doesn't just plague schools.

Before I retired from the military, there were quarterly requirements to sit through equal opportunity briefings, which cut into precious training time that could keep more soldiers alive and performing missions.

No one needs to be taught tolerance. Tolerance is such an ugly word. "Tolerance" is patronizing. Let me explain - Tolerance gives the idea that you maintain a veneer of civility over a deep-felt contempt for a person, idea or thing.

As a woman in the military, I always cringed at those briefings that told men I should be shown "tolerance" as though my presence in the military and attainment of rank was due to some authority's left-handed grace, rather than the fact I met the requirements of my rank and position.

"Tolerance" is a handout, but respect says you belong there. Better to teach respect for others' accomplishments, qualifications and intrinsic humanity, than "tolerance." There was a word for the conduct demonstrating mutual respect between people. It was called courtesy.

I have to agree with Ralph Nichols' assertion that many students are unprepared for life, academically, since I've seen mind-blowing examples of lacks in literacy and math skills among young people. A number of years ago, I was even told, when checking my niece's homework, that I couldn't correct her grammar, since making children adhere to grammatical rules "stifled their creativity." I was livid!

If you want to influence other people and have them "get" the message you were trying to creatively communicate, other people need to understand your message. Does a panda eat shoots and leaves? Or eats, shoots, and leaves?

I diverge from Mr. Nichols on the idea of whether sex education should be taught in schools. Sex is a public health, civic and legal issue better addressed in schools, while the morality and family values issue should be taught at home. Children need to know what sex is so they can prevent and report molestation. Ignorance won't save them. Young people need to know that outcomes of ill-considered sex are teen pregnancy and STDs.

They also need a sense of what kind of social and tax burden created by unprepared teenage parents, when society has to foot the bill for their children. This discussion would be an excellent civics lesson. Young people should also know about the age of consent; i.e., there is almost no such thing as consensual sex if you are under the age of 16 in the state of Washington. It's statutory rape. In this state, what constitutes consent among adults is also narrowly defined. Good information when young people join the adult dating world and leave for college.

I don't think I'd wholeheartedly trust The National Review, or any other publication that offers simple solutions based on romantic, yet inaccurate notions about how social problems originate. Social problems that create our current educational climate of escalating non-academic requirements must be dismantled, as one answer won't solve all of them.

Laura R. Standley

Des Moines