Slowly and gently unfolding flower

People pay big bucks to send kids to private schools like Waldorf that takes its name from a cigarette factory.

It's a dubious achievement to outdo even public schools on academic underachievement.

The timetable for academic achievement is slower. In the early grades, children lag behind their public-school counterparts in reading and math.

I don't understand this letter and number phobia. Kids can be playful and happy and still learn about letters and numbers.