Washington Irving's short story about the 18th-century ne'er-do-well Dutch-American farmer in the Catskill Mountains of New York who drank whiskey and then fell asleep for 20 years has become part of American literature, the arts, and idiom.

OK, Larry, you've made the point that the fictional Rip Van Winkle has become part of American culture since Washington Irving's story was published over two centuries ago. What's the connection to modern public schools?

Suppose a teenage Rip Van Winkle had gone through school and graduated in the mid-1970s. He then went to a party and afterward fell asleep in his car. Rip then awakened in 2023.

I know that this is a far-fetched connection to the story but stick with me.

In what ways had U.S. public schools changed and remained stable since Rip attended schools in the 1970s?

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