And I'll bet each one of them knew that the earth revolved around the sun once each year ; - )
Those individuals were educated by non-unionized teachers who approached their profession as a vocation. I attended catholic schools in densely populated areas. We were crammed 55 to a classroom with one nun. Our education was focused on the basics with limited extra curricula sports programs. Without electronic tools, we had to be self-reliant, memorizing multiplication tables, algebraic formulas, spelling, punctuation, historical & scientific facts, etc. Our brains were our spell checkers. We were challenged to be self-disciplined and strive for excellence.
Today, despite massive funding from taxes and other resources, the american education system cannot compete with the past. The quality has indeed degenerated.
Your #24 posting is very correct. I attended public schools in the 1940-50s, not private schools, and the results of the learning experience was superior to what kids today are subjected to through teachers’ unions and government overreach to brainwash kids.