At least when it comes to the task of education, the historical record suggests that Johannes Gutenberg and Henry Ford probably had little in common. In fact, you might well have rejected either of them as a candidate for secretary of education.

But maybe we should look again. On one aspect of the educational enterprise, they operated from much the same philosophy. If there was something good and valuable for the population at large (books for Gutenberg, autos for Ford), there had to be a way to make it available to the masses at a decent cost.

I’ve raised the issue before in this space, but the continued collapse of our culture suggests it’s appropriate to mention it again.

Imagine for a few minutes, if you will, that you’re the manager of a local McDonald’s restaurant. For the third straight day, as you seek to reconcile your registers, your cash record is off. But now, as you reflect on what might be happening, and think about the various members of your youthful staff, you puzzle over a strange pair of possible explanations. Are you dealing with computational incompetence—or with day-to-day dishonesty?

“We’ll prepare you for life,” the colorful school brochure assured me, “the way it really is.”

It has become an educational shibboleth: “We’re here,” schools at every level claim, “to get you ready for the real world.”

But do they? If that’s a significant measure of a school’s success, a painful list of them deserve failing grades. For what many schools—both public and private—have to offer these days is an incredible distance from life the way most of us really live it.

Imagine this scenario. You’re an officer in an evangelical church. The congregation has been thriving and the spirit is good.

“People want to be lightly governed by strong governments.”

It was a fine point first brought to my attention in the middle of a long editorial in The Wall Street Journal. That was 25 years ago—and the observation made such good sense that I was compelled to enlarge on it in this column. Now it’s time to reflect on that wisdom again.

“People want to be lightly governed by strong governments.”

Do you remember the name of the very first daily newspaper you got serious about reading? Or what prompted that behavior in the first place?

The people who publish newspapers might like to hear from you. Their ability to convert young readers into loyal customers has hit hard, hard times.

Almost 20 years ago, when Denver International Airport was still brand new and I may have been a little too brash, I detailed in this space some of the airport’s most noticeable problems. A few Denver residents have never quite forgiven me.

Now I read that our friends in the Mile High City are getting ready to spend over a billion dollars updating and expanding the fifth-busiest airport in the United States. Yes, I said a billion dollars. For that kind of money, maybe I can sneak in a few kind words.